The Taste of Bittersweet Exile
by MissBri84
Summary: AU: A different ending to the episode "There Might Be Blood." Rating: K for now, M later though posted M now Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan,

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she's a junior at Constance Billiard when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school.

Rating: K for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 1 – Funny Meeting You Here

Nate got to the loft before anyone else. He figured after his fight with Dan, it would be best if he and his stuff were gone before anyone came home. _Why do I always have to go and screw things up?_ Everything had happened so fast he didn't really know _how_ things had ended in the mess they were in. He'd always liked Jenny. She wasn't your typical Constance Billiard bottle-blond bombshell. She was kind, smart, sweet, funny, talented, creative and honest. In fact, her 'no holds barred' frankness was one of the things he loved about her most. She had always been honest with him, especially when no one else was. He'd still be miserable with Blair right now if Jenny hadn't told him the truth about the conversation of Dan and Serena's she'd overheard.

He also loved her passion – the fire that drove her to do what she knew was best in her heart. It was so strong within her that it gave her the guts to put on a guerilla fashion show at a highly exclusive event, making her vulnerable literally – to security – and figuratively – showing off her designs to complete strangers and opening herself up to the most elite Upper East Siders in attendance. He wished he had the guts to go after his dreams the way she did. Maybe that was why he was so drawn to her, why he couldn't help but kiss those pouty pink lips when he gazed into her eyes. He couldn't control himself around her.

He'd never liked a girl so much before. In his heart he knew he'd never loved Blair and his habitual hang out and hook-up relationships, like the one he'd shared with Vanessa, just weren't enough anymore. Jenny was different. He'd known her for over a year and they'd helped each other out a few times. She'd been there for him. Jenny was just so fun to talk to and have a good time with. She wasn't uptight like the Blair that he knew and wasn't as wild as Serena in her heyday. Her personality was right in the middle of the two extremes. She could be serious, mostly about her designs, but she could also be silly and spontaneous, and, oh, how she made him laugh!

_Stop thinking about her Nate! Get her out of your head! You can't be with her!_

Why, oh, why did he have to fall for Dan's sister? Dan, the guy that had given him a roof over his head when he had none. Dan, the guy who had become, in the last few weeks, his best friend. How could he throw that away?

Staying with the Humphrey's had been enlightening. He'd never been as blatant about it as Chuck, but to a certain degree he _was_ one of those privileged rich kids who thought they deserved any and everything they wanted because of their last names. He was used to luxury, and his current position due to his father's mistakes was like a slap in the face. However, even before his dad had fled the country, Nate had been dissatisfied with his life and the direction it was heading. Being around Rufus, Dan, and Jenny together as a family made him realize what he was sorely lacking, especially on Scattergories Thursdays. He felt he'd finally found his place in the world. He was an Upper West Sider dressed in Upper East Sider clothing. Maybe that was why he was still walking, duffel bag slung over his shoulders, on the sidewalks of Brooklyn at nearly half past six in the morning.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts; he wasn't paying attention to where he was going until he bumped into someone. Jostled out of his inner musings, he was forced to assess the damage he'd caused from his space cadet tour.

The person he'd bumped into was tiny and blonde. She had a mound of garment bags draped over her arm, which fell to the ground upon impact. She also had a duffel bag slung over her shoulder and wheeled a suitcase behind her.

"Walk much," she sniped, in no mood to be body-checked after the night she'd had. Nate recognized Jenny's voice immediately. He smiled and looked briefly to the heavens, thanking whatever powers that be for answering his unspoken prayer to see her again.

Nate stooped down and swept the garment bags off the ground, smitten, before rasping, "Funny meeting you here."

Jenny squealed as she recognized Nate's deep, sexy voice. She dropped everything and threw her arms around him, "Oh Nate! I'm so happy to see you! I'm so sorry about everything! Dan shouldn't have kicked you out!"

It all came out in a rush and Nate realized that she was flustered, a blush coloring her cheeks that he could only see because of the rising sun. He liked that he made her nervous.

"What are you _doing_, Jenny?" He asked, curious and concerned.

"I'm hugging you silly," she replied, knowing that that wasn't the answer he was looking for.

He pulled away from their embrace, placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye as he held her at arms length, "Seriously, Jenny. What _is_ this?"

He waved his hand in the direction of the duffel, suitcase, and garment bags, which had fallen to the ground again in his haste to hug her back when she'd practically bounced into his arms. He looked at her again, cocked his head to the side in an expectant manner that reeked of his desire to know the truth. She had always been honest with him; he hoped that wouldn't change now.

Nate gathered up both their duffels and the mound of garment bags, leaving Jenny to deal only with her suitcase, and motioned for her to follow him. They just happened to bump into each other on the sidewalk in front of a park. He silently thanked the powers that be for smiling down on him, yet again, and providing him with the perfect place to have their little heart-to-heart.

"_Well_?" He demanded, his curiosity and concern multiplying exponentially.

"I moved out of the loft," Jenny answered, sounding annoyed.

He was really hoping that she only had her suitcase and duffel packed to go to an extended sleepover. The truth shocked him, "_Why_?"

Jenny huffed, causing the punk strands of her bangs to flutter with the expulsion of air. She adjusted herself so her body was angled more toward Nate. It was an attempt to look at him while she explained, "It got . . . _messy_ after you left."

"Messy? What does that mean? What happened Jenny?" Nate was wary of what her answer would be.

"Well . . . for starters, my dad forbade me to have my own fashion line because "I'm too young and I will have plenty of time for that kind of thing later,"" she told him, deepening her voice to sound more like her father. Despite the gravity of the situation, he had to laugh which caused Jenny to smile a little. "When I wasn't the complacent, eager-to-please child he wanted me to be, after I told him I'd do it anyway whether he wanted me to or not, he tried to get me arrested."

"Whoa!" Rufus must have been really angry if he'd tried to get his own daughter thrown in juvenile hall. Nate knew how much Rufus loved Jenny, she was his beloved daughter. It was hard to imagine him in such a state.

"Yeah," Jenny bristled, fresh anger coloring her sweet voice, "and that's not even the half of it."

"What else happened?" Nate put his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. Without thinking, she reached up and covered his hand with hers. Nate gulped.

"When I decided to move out of Dad's I was going to stay with Agnes; but she tried to steal my sketchbook and my dresses, in the middle of the night no less. She thought I was sleeping and I caught her in the act," Jenny explained. "She made up a seriously lame excuse, but I refused to let her go anywhere with my stuff."

"I guess that worked out well considering you're carting around at least a dozen garment bags," Nate commented, sparing a glance at the plastic-covered pile that lay on the bench next to them.

"I'm not certain 'well' is the right word for it . . ." Jenny confessed, using the fingers of her free hand to twirl a strand of stray hair. "She told me that she was going to take all of my stuff to someone else, someone more talented than me, including the contacts we made from our guerilla fashion show. I stood my ground though. I think that's why she wanted to take my ideas to someone else. She wants to be completely in charge of the fashion line and she knows I'll never be a push-over and let her make all the decisions and take all the credit."

"Good for you, Jenny," Nate complimented, proud of her.

"I wish that was the end of the story," she lamented, sighing. "I stood my ground and she stood hers . . . which ended in a _catastrophic_ cat fight."

Nate took a closer look at her and saw that her right eye was purple and swelling shut quickly. Her lip was split, claw marks were on her left cheek, and a nasty bump with cut to match was apparent on her forehead. She had been gouged with something, leaving a jagged gash underneath her fragile right collar bone. Her shirt was stained red with blood.

"My God, Jenny," Nate exclaimed, worry saturating his voice. "We should get you to a doctor."

"NO!" Jenny boomed, immediately. "If I go to the hospital, my dad will find me and right now I don't want to be found," she said, vehemently. "Besides, you should see Agnes!" She laughed weakly. "Of course, I didn't try to stab _her_ with a letter opener, but it's clear that I'm the victor. I wouldn't have the dresses if I wasn't."

"Stabbed?" He gulped weakly, eyeing the wound on her collar bone again, feeling slightly sick. "With a letter opener?"

"Yep." Her statement was matter-of-fact.

"We really should get you to the hospital," Nate insisted, his face a delicate shade of green.

"I already vetoed that option, Nate," Jenny replied, her tone clearly stating that the subject was no longer up for discussion.

"We have to do something! Those cuts could get infected and we have no idea how deep that stab wound is . . ." He wasn't about to let her health suffer on his watch.

"Wounds," she corrected, indifferently. "We could go back to your old house and live there like you used to. It'll be better this time because you won't be alone, and I'll even agree to Neosporin and butterfly band-aids."

"I've got a better idea," Nate didn't elaborate, but pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Chuck. You staying in _your_ penthouse or are you living with the family?"

"What's it to you, Nathaniel?" Chuck Bass asked, smoothly, his tone only slightly smarmy. He was intrigued.

"Well . . ." Nate paused, prolonging his confession, "I need a place to stay and so does a friend of mine. I was hoping you might consider letting bygones be bygones and let us stay there."

"I don't suppose your _friend_ is Jenny Humphrey," Chuck guessed, starting to play his games.

"Does it really _matter_ who my friend is?" Nate asked, fully aware that Chuck was playing one of his games.

"As a matter of fact, it does," Chuck replied. "Do you want a place to stay or not?"

"Yes, fine, my friend is Jenny Humphrey!" Nate cried in exasperation. "How did you know?"

"Check out Gossip Girl," Chuck responded, genuine amusement in his voice.

Nate pulled up on his phone and saw a picture of Jenny and him kissing the night before. _Shit! _

"Looks like the cat's out of the bag, Archibald," Chuck purred victoriously. "Dan must have had quite the tantrum when he found out you're pulling petals off his baby sister's delicate flower."

"Are you going to let us stay at your place or not, Chuck?" Nate demanded an answer.

"Anything to piss off Dan Humphrey and get an opportunity to show you who your _real_ friends are," Chuck smiled maniacally. "Where are you? I'll send the limo to pick you up."

"Thanks, but make it quick!"

Jenny had listened to Nate's side of the conversation, uncomfortable that he was going to Chuck for help. At least he didn't call Blair, though, truthfully, she didn't know which one was worse. She listened to Nate give Chuck an address and realized that he must be coming to pick them up.

When Nate turned back to her, she cocked an eyebrow, "Chuck?"

"I don't know anyone else with a fully furnished apartment to spare," he defended himself. He noticed that the wound in Jenny's shoulder was bleeding more freely than it had been before. She looked awfully pale.

"Yeah there's that, but I thought you didn't like him anymore," Jenny expounded, feeling weak from all the walking and bleeding.

"Just because I asked him for help doesn't mean I like him," Nate told her. "I'm doing this for you . . . The Basses have their own personal doctor that makes house calls whenever they need him. It's exactly what you want Jenny. No one will know you ever needed medical attention except me and Chuck."

"But it's _Chuck_," Jenny whined, her voice childlike and fearful.

Nate noticed the change in her tone and looked at her. She was still bleeding steadily and was even more pale than she was before his conversation with Chuck. He stared into her eyes. There was terror in them, something he'd never seen there before. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, she swayed dangerously even though she was sitting. He took her in his arms . . . she was barely conscious.

"Nate . . ." she whispered softly before going limp. Her lips were starting acquire a very slight blue hue.

Luckily, Chuck's limo arrived a moment later. Chuck stepped out of the automobile, dressed in one of his ridiculous purple suits and nodding at his former best friend. The driver had exited the vehicle as well and was headed toward Jenny and Nate's things so he could load them in the limo's trunk.

"Morning, Nathaniel," Chuck's smile was indulgent. "Looks like your fashion princess couldn't handle the nightlife and turned into sleeping beauty."

"Call your private doctor and have him meet us at the penthouse," Nate instructed, glowering at Chuck but not wasting any time. "Pull out her Constance Billiard ID, figure out what blood type she is and tell Dr. Crawford to bring plenty with him."

Both Constance Billiard and St. Jude's ID cards had microchips in them, telling all pertinent, and sometimes completely irrelevant, information about the card's owner. If one had the right application on one's cell phone, which Chuck did, one could scan the microchip and access the information stored on it.

"Blood?" Chuck asked, paling, any trace of cockiness gone when he saw the red staining Jenny's shirt. "That's blood?"

"Yes, it's blood!" Nate screeched impatiently. "If we don't get some blood in her soon she's going to bleed out!"

"We're taking her to my private clinic. She might need surgery and there's a don't ask, don't tell policy that works well for those that don't want to be found," Chuck decided.

Taking one look at the girl he was rapidly falling in love with, he made an instant decision, "Do it!"

Chuck barked orders at his driver and the limo sped off toward the private clinic.

Nate clutched Jenny close to him, "You've got to fight this Jenny! Wake up, hun! You can't leave me Jen! Fight damn it!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Vanessa

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she's a junior at Constance Billiard when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl.

Rating: K for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 2 – The Way Things Work

Nate paced the same path, back and forth, in the private waiting room for what seemed like an eternity, wringing his hands as he worried about the fate of his would-be girlfriend. _What if she doesn't make it?_

Chuck sat in one of the plush, olive-colored recliners, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together underneath his chin, as they waited for news on Jenny's condition.

Chuck had called the clinic in advance and explained the situation to his doctor so they had been expected, but when they'd arrived everything had been a blur. Orderlies and nurses had promptly pried the unconscious Jenny from Nate's unwilling arms and placed her on a stretcher. Doctors had then swarmed around the bed and the tiny blonde had been whisked away without so much as a word to the two boys.

After hours of waiting, a red-haired woman of average build appeared in the room and approached Chuck and Nate. She was dressed in formal business attire suitable for a high class law firm, not scrubs, which dashed the two's hopes that she bore an update.

"I need the patient's insurance information if either of you have it," she told them, her all-business voice matching her expensive all-business clothing.

Chuck rose from his seat in the recliner, "I'll follow you to your office."

Nate gave him a funny look but didn't say anything, and continued to pace.

Chuck walked practically in the billing representative's footsteps as they made their way to her office. Once through the door, the woman, called Andrea, as boasted on her name placard, gestured for him to sit.

"I need you to fill out these forms so we can verify the patient's insurance coverage. I don't even have the girl's name," Andrea informed him, her nose turning up slightly, handing him a clipboard.

"Well, _Andrea_," Chuck replied, voice smooth and charming as always, eyeing the woman's name plate, and placing the clipboard back on her desk, "the girl's name is unimportant as is her insurance information."

"I beg to _differ,_ Mr . . . .," Andrea countered, a small scowl appearing on her lips.

Chuck made himself more comfortable and adopted a superior expression on his face, "Bass. Chuck Bass."

Her face changed when she realized who she was dealing with.

"You're new here, Andrea," he pointed out, never having seen her before. "You have yet to understand the way things work," he continued. "You see, _my_ family, the _esteemed_ Basses . . . we don't get asked questions when we come here. We show up, Dr. Crawford fixes what ails us, and we go home," Chuck instructed. "We pay an _enormous_ amount of money for this arrangement and, as one of this practice's most _generous_ patrons, we enjoy certain . . . _benefits_."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Bass. I had _no_ idea," Andrea rushed out an apology. She had known the Basses were clients, but she'd had yet to deal with them in person because, as Chuck had surmised, she was new to her position at the clinic.

"The deal is this . . .," Chuck clarified, his tone dark but still silky smooth, "the girl was never here," he pulled a fat envelope filled with cash out of an inner pocket in his suit jacket and placed it on Andrea's desk. "That should cover whatever medical costs are being accrued. There's an additional $10,000 tax-free 'donation' in that envelope provided that if anyone comes around asking questions about this ordeal, _I_ was the one in surgery . . . and, _if_, somehow, someway, the truth comes _out_, my family will no longer associate ourselves with this practice, which would highly displease Dr. Crawford and put _certain_ people's _jobs_ in jeopardy . . .," his tone was sinister. "Now tell me, Andrea, what's the _most_ important thing you've learned from this conversation?"

The look on Chuck's face was dangerous. Andrea gulped, "The girl was never here."

Chuck cocked his head to the side, boring his eyes into hers, still looking dangerous. Andrea gulped again, "Girl, Mr. Bass? I don't have any record of a girl being treated here at the moment. In fact, we haven't had a female patient in several days . . . Right now our only patient is _you_."

Chuck nodded his approval at her. "Make sure the staff sees to it that _I_ get the best treatment possible. I wouldn't want to have to take any _unpleasant_ information about my stay to my father. In fact, I'd really rather he _didn't_ know about this visit at all. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, sir," Andrea assured him, her voice shaking.

He got up from his seat, his face as pleasant as Chuck's could get, and gave Andrea a tiny bow. One look at her face told him that he'd put the fear of God in her, and he smiled as he exited her office and returned to the waiting room.

"Any news, Nathaniel?" Chuck asked, returning to the recliner he'd vacated when he'd left to take care of Jenny's insurance information.

"Nothing," Nate said, frustration clearly evident in his voice. "What was _that_ all about?"

"Just tying up a few loose ends," Chuck told him. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"But you don't even _know_ Jenny's insurance information," Nate protested.

"A moot point, my friend," Chuck replied. "People come here because they value _discretion_, and I was under the impression that Little J wanted _exactly_ that; otherwise, she wouldn't have been roaming the streets of Brooklyn carting around probably _everything_ she owns while bleeding to death."

"I should call Dan," Nate said, suddenly. "He'd want to know his sister's in surgery and Rufus . . . after all they've done for me, they deserve to know about Jenny."

"And what _exactly_ is it they've done for you, Nathaniel? Dan kicked you _out_ of his house, if you can even call it that, when he _knew_ you had nowhere else to go just because you kissed his sister. You owe him _nothing_."

"Dan has been a really good friend to me, Chuck," Nate insisted. "He trusted me and I betrayed that trust by kissing Jenny."

"It's not like you moved into his house with the _intent_ to fall for his sister," Chuck responded. "Trust _me,_ I _know_ what it's like to find Little J's feminine wiles alluring . . . Besides, knowing you, you were going to tell Humphrey all about your feelings for little sis anyway. It was just a fluke you ended up on Gossip Girl first."

"What do you mean you _know_ what it's like to fall for Jenny?" Nate demanded, puffing up, wondering if Chuck's comment had anything to do with the terror he'd seen in Jenny's eyes earlier when she'd realized who he'd gone to for help.

"_Again_, nothing you should concern yourself with," Chuck answered, avoiding the question, ashamed of his actions at the Kiss on the Lips party, though the emotion didn't mar his features. "I'm sure that daddy dearest and son extraordinaire could have come up with some ground rules for your burgeoning relationship without you having to move out."

Nate ignored the last part, and bristled with anger, knowing his former friend and what he was like when he didn't get what he wanted, "Did you _hurt_ her?"

He picked Chuck up by the lapels of his purple suit jacket and slammed him into the wall, causing the original paintings hanging there to bounce dangerously against the hard vertical surface, "I _swear_ if you hurt her . . ."

Nate didn't have time to finish his threat because Dr. Crawford had stepped into the room. Grudgingly, he let Chuck go and turned his attention to the doctor. All he wanted now was to hear that Jenny was okay.

"Hello, boys," Dr. Crawford greeted them, his tone disapproving, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I was under the impression you were concerned about your friend . . . but if you want to start ruining my very expensively decorated waiting room with your childish antics, I'll be sure to bill your father for the damage directly, Mr. Bass."

"I'm sorry sir," Nate apologized, abashed. "How is she?"

"Unfortunately, since neither one of you is related to the patient, I can't tell you much about her condition," Dr. Crawford replied, adhering to doctor-patient confidentiality.

"She's my cousin," Chuck lied, outstretching his hand to the doctor, who shook it and received a $500 bill in his fist.

Gazing down at the money, Dr. Crawford changed his tune, "Of course, anything for a member of the Bass family."

The doctor knew that the younger Bass had probably already paid a sizably larger amount of hush money to the new accounts payable girl. He knew the standard routine. He had separate deals going with Bass, Sr. and Bass, Jr.

"Miss Bass suffered three stab wounds to the thorax. Two of them punctured her right lung – one a downward wound puncturing just underneath her clavicle, the second a slice between her third and fourth ribs; the third wound was to her abdomen, piercing her spleen. We had to remove the organ to stop any internal bleeding, but there's no need to worry – a lot of people live perfectly normal lives without spleens. We repaired her lung but she remains intubated, which means she's got a tube inserted in her trachea to help her breathe. A CT and MRI has determined that she's got a pretty severe concussion in addition to two cracked ribs, and three bruised ones. We stitched up the slashes on her cheek, but she shouldn't have any scars. She's in recovery now. With a fair amount of rest, she'll be just fine."

"When can I . . . I mean, when can _we_ see her?" Nate asked eagerly. He was not pleased with the injuries the doctor had listed, but was relieved that Jenny was going to be okay.

"I don't see any reason why you can't sit with her now," Dr. Crawford assessed.

"Thank you, doctor," Chuck sounded truly genuine, and made another $500 handshake with the man.

"Nurse Westwick, will escort you to the recovery room," Dr. Crawford motioned toward a waif of a woman wearing wine-colored scrubs.

"This way, gentlemen," Nurse Westwick gestured for them to follow her.

She led them to a large, comfortable room with warm orange walls and a sea foam green ceiling. A single, oversized hospital bed was positioned in the center. It seemed to swallow Jenny's petite form. The rich blankets that covered her were the same color as the walls, and the sheets matched the ceiling.

Chuck slipped Nurse Westwick two $500 bills, "Make sure you're the only nurse on this patient's case. Dr. Crawford will fill you in on the rest."

Nurse Westwick smiled at him, already aware of most of the details that were to be worked out.

Jenny lay in the middle of the bed, tubes sticking out from everywhere they could see. Nate slumped into the plush chair at her bedside and took her hand in his. Chuck stayed just long enough to make sure Jenny's vitals were sound and that Nate was in a good enough state to watch over her before making a hasty exit.

He walked down the hall to where the examination rooms were and entered room 2B. Dr. Crawford was already waiting for him. He hopped up on the examination table.

"Make it look real, doctor," Chuck instructed, removing his suit jacket, vest, tie, button-down shirt, and undershirt, "and make it quick."

Dr. Crawford pulled a sterile instrument tray next to the examination table and selected a 10-blade scalpel. He made an inch-deep incision directly underneath Chuck's collar bone in exactly the same place Jenny's wound was, then cleaned it, sutured it and bandaged it neatly. He did the same thing between Chuck's third and fourth ribs and also in his abdomen, again, exactly where Jenny's injuries were on her body. Taking a sterile stainless steel bedpan, Dr. Crawford bashed Chuck across the head in the approximate place where Jenny had acquired her concussion. The doctor made another incision in the middle of the bump that was rapidly forming on his forehead – a cut to match the one on Jenny's – and sutured and bandaged it like he had all the rest. Chuck could fake the injured ribs.

"Once your _cousin _vacates the recovery room, I'll put you under heavy anesthesia, set you up in her place and call your father," Dr. Crawford told him. "Until then I'll give you some medication to take care of the pain. I'd start thinking of a cover story if I were you."

"Thanks, doctor," Chuck slurred, holding a hand against his throbbing head. He really had to do something about Blair. She was making him go soft. "I'll have an extra $5000 delivered by courier when I'm _released_. I'll be waiting in the recovery room."

Dr. Crawford nodded briskly and left to get the pain medication.

"God, Karma's a _bitch_," Chuck exclaimed, removing his pants so that he was only in his silk boxers, struggling to pull the hospital garb on. Better he do it now than have a nurse do it later when he was anesthetized. Blair would _kill_ another woman, nurse or no, for seeing parts of his anatomy she thought of as exclusively hers. Even with his surgery cover story, Blair had a way of knowing things. She'd probably kill his nurse anyway.

Hospital garb successfully donned, Chuck made his way back to Jenny in the recovery room. Upon entrance, Nate glanced up at his former friend.

When he noticed his former friend's outfit and the bandage on his forehead exactly where the bandage on Jenny's forehead was, he gave Chuck a "what the fuck?" look.

"What the hell happened to _you_?" Nate asked.

"My father has a heavy hand in this place. He'll know that someone was in surgery today and he'll know what procedures were performed," Chuck explained, shifting the hospital garb so Nate could see the bandages. "I'm just covering our tracks. He'll never know Jenny Humphrey was here. We need to come up with a story as to how _I_ ended up _needing_ surgery in the first place."

"Why are you doing this?" Nate wondered aloud, confused by his friend's actions.

"Let's just say I owe Jenny one," Chuck confessed, not going into the details. Nate was willing to overlook the matter at the moment, but definitely would confront Chuck about what he 'owed' Jenny at a later time.

"Okay . . . cover story," Nate changed the subject and focused, seeing as he was the only one in the room who hadn't been hit on the head. "You saw the picture of me and Jenny kissing on Gossip Girl and came to find me. You saw me arguing with Dan about it. I told you he kicked me out and you offered to let me stay at your penthouse. I refused to let your driver take me to the Humphrey's to pack my things – I wanted to take the subway to blow off some steam. I told you to meet me at the park we were at but you got there before I did. You got mugged and when I showed up you and your driver were unconscious. I managed to get you and your driver in the back seat of the limo and drove you here."

"Sounds good to me," Chuck agreed, swaying and tumbling into another one of the plush chairs that resided in the recovery room. He winced when the chair made contact with his chest wound, and irritated his abdomen. If he was in this much pain over a few shallow cuts, he pitied what Jenny would be feeling when she woke up. "How's she doing?"

"Her vitals are good and she _should_ be coming out of the anesthesia in about an hour," Nate recited Nurse Westwick's approximation.

Dr. Crawford entered with Chuck's pain meds then. "According to Nurse Westwick's update on your cousin's condition, we need to get you into a bed soon. I hit you in the head harder than I intended to."

Chuck swallowed the pain pills, allowing an orderly to take his elbow to help him up and escort him out of the room to his own overlarge hospital bed. Once he was settled, Nurse Westwick inserted an I.V. into his hand.

"Don't forget to call Blair, Nathaniel," Chuck called out from the next room, his speech even more slurred, the pain medicine taking quick effect. "She'll probably _kill_ you for not calling her before my _surgery_."

"Will do, Chuck," Nate promised.

Half an hour later, Chuck was konked out from the anesthesia and his bed was in the recovery room. Jenny, who still hadn't awakened but was breathing on her own now, had been moved to a private room and was being closely monitored.

Nate flipped open his cell phone and dialed Blair's number.

"Nate?" Blair asked in surprise. He hadn't called her since he'd found out she'd lost her virginity to Chuck in the back seat of his limousine.

"Blair . . . It's Chuck," Nate said, making his voice sound grave.

"What about Chuck?" Blair's voice was slightly higher pitched.

"He's in the hospital . . . well, his private clinic. He's just come out of surgery," Nate explained, his tone the same.

"And you're _just_ calling me about this _now_?! I'm his _girlfriend_, Nate! I _should've_ been the _first_ person you _called_!" Blair was starting to have a panic attack.

"You _are_ the first person I called. Chuck came to just before he went under the knife and asked that I _not_ call you until I knew for _sure_ he was going to be okay," Nate lied. It was the practical thing to do in the name of self-preservation.

"Fine! Whatever! I'm on my way! _DOROTA_ . . . !" Nate heard her yell her servant's name as she hung up.

Dr. Crawford was calling Bart Bass now. He would wait until both parties arrived and feed them the cover story he'd come up with. Then he would excuse himself under the guise of borrowing a hospital bed to get some sleep after a sleepless night and hours of waiting during surgery, and return to Jenny's side.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia (he and Willow never cheated, they never broke up, she and Angel never had a thing, and she didn't die – sorry but I hated Anya and Xander together and I can't see him with Vanessa. Also, he doesn't lose his eye.)

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she's a junior at Constance Billiard when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl. Chuck actually raped Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party, but nobody knows, not even Chuck himself.

Rating: K for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 3 – Sleeping Beauty Awakes

Nate sat at Jenny's bedside, holding her delicate hand in both of his large ones, worry etching his features as he patiently watched over her. _How did this happen?_ He had been wondering on the topic for hours. He'd seen a wild side to Agnes during the brief times they had met, but a violent side? _How could I have missed _that_?_ He knew most models were moody and temperamental, having been around his fare share, but literally back-stabbing and homicidal? How could two such _tiny_ girls have afflicted _so_ much damage on each other? It didn't really matter, he decided, after much contemplation. As long as Jenny was going to be fine he didn't care.

The tiniest of moans came from somewhere in Jenny's chest, sounding breathy and hoarse because of her newly repaired lung, startling Nate. She was starting to come-to, _thank god_. Her eyes began to flutter as though they would open any second.

"And so my Sleeping Beauty awakes," Nate murmured quietly. It sounded poetic, like something Dan would say. He supposed that Dan must have rubbed off on him a little during his stay at the loft. His heart and conscience panged at the thought of Dan and Rufus being in the dark about Jenny's condition. He kept an impatient eye on his wakening charge so that if either of them ever found out, they would know he did his very best to take proper care of her.

Jenny's eyes opened slowly, irises shockingly blue against the orange and green of the room. She blinked several times as though she was fighting falling back to sleep, and Nate held his breath. Finally, her eyes opened and stayed that way, taking in her surroundings. Not recognizing where she was, she looked fearful and uncertain and she didn't feel Nate's hands holding hers or see his familiar countenance as she blinked some more and stared at the ceiling in confusion.

"Jenny?" Nate said quietly, afraid he might scare her in her confounded state. There was a long bout of silence and he suspected she was still fighting to throw off the effects of the anesthesia. He kept on trying though, "Jenny, hun? Say something, _please_."

His tone was pleading and she seemed to recognize it because she stopped looking afraid and hesitant and more comforted at the sound of his voice.

"Ouch," she rasped, her throat sore partly from the screaming match she'd had with Agnes during the crazy model's attempted coup-détat, partly from lack of use since said trumped-takeover debacle, and partly from the hours of surgery.

Nate didn't say anything more, but released her hand and went to the mini-refrigerator in the corner of the room to retrieve a bottle of Evian the clinic kept stocked in every room. He unscrewed the cap and poured the cold liquid into a glass, placing a bendy straw in so she could drink with ease. He put the water bottle on the counter and picked up the glass, holding it up to her rosebud mouth. She parted her lips just enough to take the plastic tube between them and took a long drink that ended in an obviously painful swallow.

"Nate?" Jenny whispered almost inaudibly, finding his face and focusing on it. She smiled a little, but the look of confusion remained fused to her features. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're in a private medical facility," Nate explained softly, retaking her hand in his and tightening his grip noticeably. She squeezed his hands back, weakly, silently thanking him for the comfort his touch brought her. "After your scuffle with Agnes you lost a lot of blood . . . you almost _died_ in my arms."

He removed one of his hands from Jenny's, picked up the nurse's signal button and pressed it down. "Nobody knows you're here, not Dan or your father. Just me and Chuck."

"_Chuck_?" Jenny repeated incredulously, the same look of terror in her eyes he'd seen before. "Why does _Chuck_ know?"

"It was his idea to bring you here," Nate told her, wondering why the sound of his friend's name made her so frightened.

Before he could explain anything else, Nurse Westwick bustled into the room. Nate had to leave Jenny's side momentarily so her vitals could be taken and logged and her bandages checked.

"How long has she been awake?" Nurse Westwick demanded of Nate.

"A minute, maybe two," he informed her, irritated. She was keeping him away from Jenny and he didn't like it.

"How are you feeling, Miss Bass?" Nurse Westwick addressed Jenny directly this time.

"My ribs hurt something awful, my head feels like it's been bulldozed and I'm exhausted," Jenny answered, her voice miniscule, giving Nate a strange look at being called 'Miss Bass.'

"Well, that is to be expected after the ordeal you went through, dear. Not nearly a single drop of blood in your veins when you first got here and you're so underweight for a girl of your height," Nurse Westwick fussed. "We'll make sure you're good and healthy before we let you go home. The doctor should be in shortly. He's dealing with another patient right now. Until then I'll up your morphine drip to help ease any discomfort you're feeling."

Jenny nodded her thanks as best she could, and watched the nurse retreat from the room. Nate immediately returned to the spot he'd earlier occupied before the nurse had come to examine Jenny, who waved her I.V.'d hand in a small circle as a gesture to continue where he'd left off.

"We needed a place to stay, remember? I called Chuck and he came in his limo to pick us up and take us to his penthouse. By the time he got to us, you were unconscious and you're lips were blue," Nate filled in the blanks. "We couldn't just sit by and watch you die so Chuck took action and ordered his driver here. He even called in advance and explained what happened to the doctor so they'd be prepared to help you the second we arrived. We spent hours and hours in the waiting room with no word on your condition. It was _awful_," he pouted, making it clear how sick he'd been with worry over her. "Do not _ever_ do that to me again! _Especially_ over a bunch of dresses!"

"I'm sorry, Nate," she whispered, genuine. "I'm glad you're here, but I don't know how my dad is going to afford the medical bills."

"Chuck took care of that too," Nate said. "He even got his doctor to cut him up like you so it looks like _he_ had the surgery instead. He's anesthetized right now in the recovery room, though I'm surprised he hasn't woken with the way Blair's been screeching."

"I may still be a bit groggy and I'm certain I still don't know exactly what _Chuck_ has to do with this mess . . . and I don't mean to be rude because I'm really happy that _you_ are but . . .," she trailed off her voice still raw and muffled, "what I'm wondering is, _why_ are you still_ here_?"

Nate looked into her eyes, a sweetness present that she'd never seen there before, "Isn't it obvious . . . I'm here because I'm in lo . . ." Nate choked on the words, not wanting to say them while she was in the hospital and making it look like he only said it because she had tubes sticking out of almost everywhere on her body, " . . . because I really _really_ care about you."

Jenny smiled a hint of a smile, and what appeared to be a hopeful glint sparkled in the eye that wasn't purple and swollen shut, murmuring, "I really _really_ care about you too . . .," still feeling the effects of the drugs, she grew a little more bold than was typical for her, ". . . This hospital bed is ridiculously huge . . ." she stated the obvious, wondering if she was pushing her luck, " . . . would you mind snuggling in and holding me . . . I really hate hospitals or _private medical facilities_."

Nate didn't give her an answer, he just kicked off his shoes and wriggled onto the side of her bed that was wire and tube free. His arms wound around her immediately, delicately cradling her bruised rib cage and carefully avoiding any injured areas. In the comfort of each other's presence, they fell asleep.

Nurse Westwick kept an eye on them, checking in every fifteen minutes to make sure that Jenny's vitals were sound, while Dr. Crawford _tried_ to deal with Blair.

"What _exactly_ was this procedure you had to perform on my boyfriend?" Blair demanded, only daring to call Chuck her boyfriend out loud when she was sure he was unconscious.

"I'm sorry Miss but you are of no relation to Mr. Bass," he explained, for the third time. "I simply _cannot_ tell you anything about his condition."

"You already talked to his father and you _know_ he's not coming!" Blair shrieked dangerously. "I'm all he's got and he _needs_ me – you _have_ to tell me! I am a _Waldorf _for crying out loud!"

"I'm sorry, but that just isn't possible," Dr. Crawford cried exasperated.

Blair dug into her purse and pulled out her checkbook, "Name your price doctor. I don't care how much it costs – you _will_ allow me into that recovery room!"

"Of course, Miss Waldorf!" Dr. Crawford reassessed the situation, changing his tune almost immediately at the sight of her checkbook. "We'll discuss figures later. I'll escort you to the recovery room myself."

"_Thank you_," Blair breathed out heavily, annoyance and relief expelled with the carbon dioxide.

Chuck lay in the hospital bed looking as innocent as she'd ever seen him before. There was a bandage on his forehead but he looked so peaceful. It made her heart hurt and melt at the same time, though in some way it seemed like another one of his games. Get mugged and require surgery so afterward he'd look so adorable in recovery he'd claw his way that much further underneath her skin.

"Chuck Bass you'd _better_ wake up!" Blair said loudly, in her most obnoxious tone, treating his slumber as though he were faking it, plopping down in the same chair Nate had occupied when Jenny was the one in the recovery room.

Jarred out of the waning anesthesia, he jerked and recognized Blair's voice, and _only_ Blair's voice. His father wasn't coming. He felt stupid for being surprised and hopeful when he remembered all the lessons he'd learned to the contrary.

He awoke a lot more gracefully than Jenny had, "And here I was thinking angel's voices were supposed to be so sweet; I'd never have expected an angel to sound so repelling and yet take my breath away with its beauty."

"Your breath stays right where it is, Chuck Bass," Blair ordered. "It means you're alive . . . so now I can _kill_ you for making me worry!"

Chuck smiled up at her, "Aren't _you_ fun to wake up to, lover."

Blair rolled her eyes and then catapulted from her seat onto the bed, onto Chuck more accurately.

He hissed in pain, "My god woman! I just had surgery and I've got broken ribs! You don't just jump on someone like that when they've been through something like this!"

"I just thought it would be a nice little reminder for you not to get yourself mugged and require surgery. This way you'll never forget how much it hurts!" Blair said, cheerily, trying to stuff the tears that were on the ready to pour down her cheeks back into the back of her mind at his condition.

Chuck was very thankful at the moment that his surgery wasn't, indeed, real. He could only imagine the kind of pain he'd be in if he had really been the one stabbed with a letter opener deep enough to puncture a lung in more than one place, not to mention a spleen.

"I _almost_ convinced myself that this was just _another_ one of your games on the way here, _lover_. Just you trying to get those three little words out of me in a totally evil and wicked way," Blair admitted to her boyfriend – they weren't officially together but anyone who looked at the two of them knew the two of them were spoken for each other, though that had always remained _unspoken_. Blair still liked to think of him as her boyfriend though even if she only called him that in her head, the feelings she had for him were stronger than she'd had for any other guy.

"Am I ever _not_ totally evil and wicked?" Chuck asked, his voice returning to its normal velvety smoothness.

Blair shrugged, conceding the point. "You're just trying to get me to play naughty nurse."

"Am I really that transparent?" Chuck snickered, managing to make even such a silly sound silky smooth.

"Yes," she told him being quite honest. "I'll just drag Serena away from Dan long enough to swing by somewhere dirty to pick up a few costumes," Blair grinned. They may not be official in titles but it had been a long time since they'd stopped teasing each other physically and just given in to the sparks that flew between them. Most of the time, lately, nothing was ever between them except very expensive sheets. The sex was great and the pillow talk afterward was even better.

Chuck looked utterly sexy and devilish at the thought of his 'girl' in a naughty nurse costume, "Maybe I _should_ have surgery more often."

"Don't you even _think_ about that Chuck Bass!" Blair swiped her fist at his good shoulder, more at peace with his condition now that he was back to ogling her and suggesting dirty sex scenarios. He was still _her_ Chuck . . . she just had to play a bit more gently with him for a little while. She smiled widely as all kinds of sexual torture scenarios she could entangle him in in his weakened state played through her head. Now that she was sure he wasn't on his deathbed, she thought that this _could_ be _really_ fun.

"What are you cooking up in that pretty little head of yours?" he asked, calling her his girlfriend in his head the same way she referred to him as her boyfriend in hers – both too stubborn to admit it.

"Wouldn't you like to know . . . I don't give it up that easily," she said, adding just the right amount of sexy to her voice.

"I have it on good authority that you do," Chuck teased, earning him another punch to the shoulder.

"You really should watch what you say to me," Blair informed him playfully, "because I could do lots of things to you in your current condition that might leave you more than a little frustrated, even miserable, if you get my meaning, _lover_."

"You could, but you won't," Chuck argued. "You're just as addicted to me as I am to you," he shared candidly. It was the truth. "Besides, if you leave me frustrated and miserable there's always Rosy Palm and last I checked both of my hands are fully functional."

Blair ignored his last comment and just gazed into his warm brown eyes, marveling at the fact that he was right. She _was _addicted. She smiled the smile she reserved for Chuck and Chuck alone and finally got off of him, re-taking the seat by his bed. She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently and he smiled the smile he reserved for Blair and only Blair.

~*~

Nate was abruptly woken from his heavenly bliss by a quaking Jenny in his arms. Panicking, he let go of her and grabbed the nurses' call button, pressing it down hurriedly at least five times.

He jumped out of the too-comfortable, too large hospital bed and ran to the door, throwing it open and hollering at the top of his lungs, "Help, I need help in here!"

Nurse Westwick was the first on the scene, hastening past Nate toward Jenny, who was still convulsing. Two other nurses Nate didn't recognize rushed in a moment later.

"She's seizing," Nurse Westwick said, "help me get her on her side."

The other nurses obeyed without a word. She added something about pushing ten cc's of a medicine Nate had never heard of before and, though it seemed like forever to him, the convulsions wracking her petite frame began to subside almost immediately.

"She's not breathing," Nurse Westwick told the others, "we need to intubate. She's got a tiny throat, get me a size seven tube," she demanded, rolling Jenny on her back again, snapping on a pair of latex gloves and taking a scary-looking metal instrument from the hand of one of her fellow nurses.

To Nate's dismay, the metal instrument was inserted into Jenny's mouth, along with the tube. It was done quickly and efficiently, and one of the nurses Nate didn't know attached a big, air-compressor looking thing to the tube and started squeezing it, breathing for the girl he loved.

"I'm not hearing equal breath sounds," Nurse Westwick said to no one in particular listening to the tiny blonde's chest with a stethoscope right before Jenny flat-lined. Nurse Westwick raced to push a red button behind Jenny's bed and called out, "Code blue, I need a crash cart in here!"

Nate shrunk into the background, watching as though they were in a movie as they ripped open Jenny's hospital gown and shocked her with the crash cart paddles once . . . twice . . . three times before her heart began to beat again.

Dr. Crawford came in a fraction of a second later and assessed everything. Her vitals were sluggish and he wasn't pleased that his _nonexistent_ patient wasn't recovering the way she should have been.

"Get me a more recent CT scan, and have the results to me yesterday," he commanded, briskly. The surgery he'd performed had been textbook; so perfect an article could have been published about it in a medical journal – he was a Renaissance doctor to the most elite of the Upper East Side, after all. He had to know what had gone wrong before this girl died in his care without any record of ever being there. That would make things messy and Dr. Crawford did _not_ do messy.

Nurse Westwick didn't even nod, she just unclamped the clamps all hospital beds had to keep them from rolling around unnecessarily on Jenny's bed and she and the other nurses whisked her out of the room.

~*~

Dr. Crawford entered the recovery room, Nate on his heels, relieved to discover that Chuck was wide awake and flirting dangerously with the pushy, bitchy dark-haired girl who'd paid him $5000 just to get into the recovery room.

"A word, Mr. Bass," Dr. Crawford, said, making it clear that what he had to say was to remain private, except possibly to the other boy Chuck had come in with, the one who knew the score and what was at stake.

"Blair, would you mind going to get me a shot of espresso from the coffee shop across the street? I could really use a kick in the pants about now with all these drugs running through my veins," Chuck asked this of her innocently, hoping she'd just do what he requested without making a fuss.

"I could think of other ways to put a kick in your pants, but if it's espresso you want, it's espresso you'll get, and just so you know . . . I know you're just trying to get me out of the room. You're lucky I'm letting you get away with it especially since you're letting Nate stay," Blair informed him, rather complacent, something she hardly ever was. She picked up her gold Gucci clutch, giving him one last long look before exiting the room.

"Nate," Chuck whispered, "peep outside real quick just to make sure she's really gone. It was way too easy to get her to leave."

Nate checked up and down the halls, under various pieces of medical equipment, and anywhere in general that was Blair-sized that she could, therefore, hide in.

"It's safe," Nate announced, nerves shot to hell after everything that had happened between the guerilla fashion show and now.

"Your cousin had a seizure Mr. Bass," Dr. Crawford informed him tonelessly. "We performed another CT scan and found something we didn't catch earlier."

"Why didn't you find it earlier?" Chuck demanded. He was paying damned good money to keep Jenny Humphrey alive and kicking and the doctor was telling him they missed something? Not cool.

"Her brain looked fine during the initial CT and MRI, but sometimes an injury can be so small that it doesn't show up right away," Dr. Crawford explained. "The blunt force trauma your cousin received to the right side of her head has caused a small bleed in her brain and it's caused her brain to swell. If we want to keep her alive, we need to get her into surgery right away. New York's finest Neurosurgeon sometimes moonlights here pro bono, and he happened to choose today to do just that. With your consent, I'd like to prep her and get her in the OR with him as soon as possible."

"What are the risks doctor?" Chuck asked, completely calm and cool-headed, as though he dealt with life and death situations on a daily basis.

"As with any surgery there are risks of complications, but in my professional opinion, the benefits far outweigh the risks. If we perform the surgery there's always the chance there'll be a fatal complication, but without surgery . . . without it she might as well be dead already."

"Do it," Chuck said decisively. "Any money my father sends to pay for my 'surgery' will pay for the brain surgery."

"Like I said, Dr. Shepherd works here only occasionally, and strictly pro bono. The only thing that'll need paying for is supplies used and the nurses working with him during the surgery."

"Well, get to it!" Chuck snapped, impatient that his doctor wasn't off informing the neurosurgeon that the surgery was a go.

Nate felt light-headed and leaned back so he was touching the wall. It was the only way he knew right now to keep his knees from giving out. They gave out anyway and he slid down the semi-gloss finish orange paint job until he was sitting on the floor.

"Nate . . . everything's going to be fine," Chuck assured his friend. "Jenny's a fighter, she's going to make it through."

Nate's reply was lost because Blair swept in the room carrying a cup holder and a brown paper bag at that precise moment.

"I got you both triple shot lattes and some goodies in case you're hungry, if you're even _allowed_ to have this kind of stuff so soon after going under the knife," Blair worried, being sweet with the man she loved.

"I'm sure I'll be able to handle a Danish, lover," Chuck argued playfully, and snatched the brown paper bag from her. Before she could stop him he sunk his teeth into a gigantic bear claw, he was so starving!

Nate accepted the coffee but passed on the baked goods. He couldn't eat again until Jenny was okay.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia (he and Willow never cheated, they never broke up, she and Angel never had a thing, and she didn't die – sorry but I hated Anya and Xander together and I can't see him with Vanessa. Also, he doesn't lose his eye.)

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she's a junior at Constance Billiard when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl. Chuck actually raped Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party, but nobody knows, not even Chuck himself.

Rating: K for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 4 – Put on Your Boxing Gloves

Nate had lost track of the hours that had gone by. Time felt meaningless as he waited and waited to hear an update on how Jenny's surgery was going. He'd never been so scared or felt so sick in his entire life. Though Chuck hid it well, Nate knew that, under the surface, he was worried too.

Twenty minutes after Blair returned from the coffee shop across the street, Chuck had been transferred out of recovery and into a regular, but still fabulous, hospital room. The walls were the same warm pumpkin-spice orange color with sea foam green ceiling. There was a large flat screen LCD TV mounted on the wall in front of the overlarge hospital bed that got satellite channels. An ornate, antique-looking armoire for all of one's clothes and belongings was placed at a precise 45 degree angle to the corner of the wall beside the bed. Of course, there was also the exact same mini-fridge filled with expensive bottled water and other fancy crap that had been in Jenny's room before . . . before . . . God! He didn't even want to think about it!

Blair noticed the state that Nate was currently in and thought it was sweet that he was so worried about his friend even though the doctor had assured them Chuck would be fine.

"You really should eat something, Nate," Blair insisted, holding a cheese Danish within his grasping range. In truth, part of Blair blamed Nate for Chuck's condition because he'd asked him to wait for him in such an icky part of town, but she saw how messed up he was about it and couldn't bring herself to be too angry with him.

"I can't," Nate griped, gently but firmly pushing her hand away. "Thanks though."

Blair shrugged at him and put the pastry back in the bag.

A moment later, Lily Bass, Eric and Serena van der Woodsen, and Dan Humphrey walked through the door to Chuck's room.

"Oh Charles!" Lily cried maternally when she spied the bandages both on his head and the visible one on his chest, rushing to his bedside. "I'm so sorry we weren't here sooner. Your father waited to call and tell us what happened until his board meeting was finished. He can't make it home right now because of business but he'll be thrilled to see you up and around when he's back."

Chuck wondered if Lily really believed what she was saying or if she was just saying it because it was what you said to a teenage boy who'd just suffered an alarming amount of trauma and was in need of his absentee-father and was shit out of luck. He found it interesting that Lily took such an interest in him, _odd_ even. None of his father's other wives had given a damn about him or what he did. Lily acted like she really cared about him. He didn't know what was worse – being completely ignored as with his dad's other wives, having someone pretend to care about him, which was a definite possibility with Lily (he wasn't exactly a loveable kind of guy), or to actually have someone genuinely care, which was the other possibility with Lily. It was _so_ much easier to make everyone hate him than to risk getting his heart smashed to bits when people abandoned him, which, in the end, was inevitable.

"How are you feeling?" Eric asked his step-brother, who Chuck genuinely liked. He had a look of utter concern on his face.

"My ribs ache like you wouldn't believe and I feel like I could sleep for days, but I can't," he told him, well, all of them since they were all in such close proximity. He acted the part perfectly.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Serena said, her tone about 80% apologetic and 20% apathetic. At least she'd tried.

"I'm touched, sis," Chuck replied, his tone partly teasing, partly smarmy and 100% Chuck. Serena rolled her eyes.

Then there was Dan. He looked awkward and out of place there with everyone else and he didn't have anything nice to say to Chuck for a plethora of reasons, so he settled on, "Get well soon, man."

It was Chuck's turn to roll his eyes – he and Dan despised each other. He knew that coming here wasn't his idea. He'd probably been spending the day with Serena when the phone call from his father had shed light on his whereabouts, and Lily had packed them all up whether he was her child or not and brought them here to show support through a united familial front. He really wished that Dan, smart as the guy was, had been smart enough at the time to think of a way to get himself out of the situation of coming to wish him well. It was bad enough that Serena was here . . . sometimes she was wildly intuitive when it came to Nate and Chuck scheming together, she'd known them both so long. Dan's presence magnified the intensity of the situation exponentially, his sister only a hundred feet away in a sterile operating room having her head cut open, perilously close to death. Dan was also not a fan of Nate at the moment either, but he chose to ignore him – Nate hadn't been attacked and had surgery all in the same twenty-four hour period, so he didn't merit a hello or even a glance in his direction.

Chuck met Nate's eyes and both silently acknowledged that they were deep into some boiling water, and needed a plan fast.

"Thank you for coming Lily and Eric and Serena . . . Humphrey," Chuck said stiffly as though Dan's name was a dirty word, "but I'm doing just fine. I'll be in the hospital for a few days so they can observe me, but really, I can handle this myself. I refuse to let my 'incident' keep you from your everyday lives, so I insist that you all go home," Chuck reassured them in his silkiest voice. "In fact, Blair, you've been here for hours. You deserve a break . . . maybe you should go with Serena and Dan. They'll keep you company."

Serena and Dan had all but put their hands on the handle of the door when Chuck's little speech had given them an out. At his suggestion, Serena insisted that Blair come with them and after much prodding she agreed, a promise to return as soon as she could possibly manage rolling off her tongue. Lily didn't have a chance to tell them that they weren't to leave.

"You're sure you're okay?" Eric asked, his voice lilting upward with the question.

"Yes . . ." Chuck insisted.

". . . Because I was supposed to go out with Jonathan tonight."

"Go! Have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Chuck said enthusiastically.

"_Is_ there _anything_ you wouldn't do?" Eric asked, eyebrow cocked in curiosity.

"Not really," Chuck admitted, "but with girls."

Eric laughed and exited. That left only Lily to take care of.

"Lily I appreciate your motherly concern, I really do, but you have that huge party to plan for my dad's business investors in a couple days," Chuck reminded her. "Focus on that . . . I'm well on my way to recovery, I _swear_. Scout's honor."

"People really misunderstand you, Charles," Lily complimented, a dignified air about her. "You're absolutely right. This party has to be perfect! I have much to do but I _promise_ to keep checking in on you."

She gave him a hug, a real one, not one of those high society pat-you-on-the-back sorts of hugs he usually got from older family members. It surprised him to say the least. Maybe his new step-mother really _did_ care about him.

"Man you're good at clearing out a room whether you're being obnoxious _or_ polite," Nate observed, his voice shaking, feeling like laughing manically until he shook the dead feeling inside his stomach out of his body. He was exhausted even though he was wired from the triple espresso he'd slurped up like a guy who hadn't had water in days and had finally found some. His hands were shaking as well and he actually looked sick. "If there was a job out there where the sole requirement was to clear a room, you'd be even more exorbitantly rich than you are now."

"_Exorbitantly_? Wow! I'm _glad_ Gossip Girl caught you and Jenny kissing. Any more time spent with Dan in that _disgusting_ loft and you'd be quoting Shakespeare or some _queer_ poet from the Dark Ages or something. You got out just in time!"

"I actually _like_ reading now, Chuck, but could we please not mention her name until we know something solid?" Nate requested, pathetically.

Chuck cocked his head to one side and stared at Nate, examining his friend in a probing sort of way.

"Wow!"

"Wow, what?" Nate asked, not in the mood.

"You're not just kissing her," Chuck realized, in awe and stupidity, "you're in love with her _aren't_ you?"

"My feelings aren't the issue right now, Chuck. Jenny's health is all that matters," Nate tried to swerve the focus back where it should be, on Jenny having her brain cut open.

Chuck stared at him for a long while, not bothering to hide it.

"_What_?" Nate exclaimed in pure annoyance. He felt like one of the onion cell slides they stored in the biology lab at school, like he was being put under a microscope for the entire world to see.

"You've _never_ been like this with anyone," Chuck stated flatly. "You lusted after Serena, not loved her, you dated Blair out of affection and obligation to your family, not love, and you cut things off with that weird chick friend of Dan's for moral superiority – your feelings for her outweighed by her competence to pull off some Blair-like scheme – _definitely_ not love. But Jenny . . . man . . . you poor, _pathetically_ love sick son of a bitch! You're in _love_ with _Little J_! Really, _truly_ in love with her! Poor bastard," Chuck mumbled to himself, unable to clearly grasp the information he'd just unearthed.

"And it's not the love/hate kind of love _is_ it either?" Chuck continued, his speech a little slurred when he spoke next. Nate was sure his friend had pressed the morphine dosage button a couple times because he sounded drunk. "It's that pure, sweet, soul mate kind of love that everybody talks about but never finds . . . I can see it," Chuck mumbled partly to Nate and partly to no one in particular as though his musings were the stuff of genius. "I can see it right there in your eyes Nathaniel!"

Chuck pointed a finger of accusation at Nate, "Admit it, Nathaniel . . . you're head over heels for _Humphrey's sister_!"

Nate held up his hands in surrender, "Fine, you caught me. I'm in love with Jenny Humphrey."

"Hah!" Chuck puffed up victoriously. "I _knew_ it!"

"Why don't you try to get some sleep Chuck?" Nate suggested. "This hasn't been the easiest day for you either."

"I _can't_ go to sleep until I know my cousin is okay," Chuck argued. He'd definitely hit the morphine button. It was as though he'd forgotten that Jenny wasn't really his cousin. "You're _not_ allowed to date my cousin!"

"When I fall in love with one of your cousins I'll keep that in mind," Nate retorted, semi-amused and distracted by his very high friend.

"Is she soft like Blair?" Chuck asked, so completely stoned that for once he sounded totally innocent and childlike.

"Yes, she's soft like Blair," Nate answered, becoming more amused by the second.

"Cuz Blair's really soft," Chuck gushed. Anesthesia mixed with morphine clearly was his Kryptonite as well as a certain brunette. "I _love_ her . . . She's my _girlfriend_, did you _know_?"

"Last I checked you never use the gf word around anyone when talking about Blair, just the same as she never uses the bf word about you," Nate said.

"Why do we _do_ that?" Chuck asked, absolutely stumped.

"Because _you're_ Chuck and _she's_ Blair and _both_ of you like to play games," Nate felt like he was talking to a five year old.

"That's just . . . _stupid_," Chuck huffed, and folded his arms defiantly across his chest.

"I agree," Nate said, and it wasn't a lie.

"What do I do to _fix_ it?" Chuck asked, eagerly.

"Tell her how you really feel about her and let the cards fall where they may," Nate advised, pretty sure his friend wouldn't remember this conversation at all whether he slept it off or just stayed awake until the fog cleared.

"What if she _doesn't_ say it back? I don't think I could _take_ it if she _doesn't_ say it _back_," Chuck whined, something not at all attractive on his attractive face.

"Then tell her how soft _she_ is, and how hard she makes _you_," Nate suggested. "The two of you always torture each other like that _anyway_."

"Oh, okay . . ." Chuck said, his voice trailing off sleepily.

The next thing Nate heard was the sound of Chuck snoring as he slept off his anesthesia/morphine high.

Hours and hours later, a doctor appeared in Chuck's room. Nate didn't recognize him but he suspected that this was Dr. Shepherd, the neurosurgeon.

He leapt to his feet and greeted the doctor, then shook Chuck awake so he could hear an update on Jenny. She was his cousin after all.

Thankfully, Chuck was stone sober when he woke and greeted the doctor in a way he might greet a potential investor or business partner before asking, "How's my cousin?"

"She's out of surgery. We managed to stop the bleed in her brain and repair the tissue where the bleed originated, but we had to remove part of her skull to relieve the pressure her brain is under. I've induced a coma as a safety net to make sure her brain has plenty of time to recover unadulterated. It's always better to err on the side of caution, especially since this is her second traumatic surgery in twenty-four hours," Dr. Shepherd explained.

"How long will she need to be in the coma?" Nate asked, his tone of voice respectful.

"Well, she's in the I.C.U. right now. We really won't know anything until tomorrow morning . . . Miss Bass was in bad shape when you brought her in. Her first surgery was very invasive and traumatic to her already traumatized body. That coupled with her state of malnourishment made it that much more dangerous to operate a second time in such a _short period_ of time, especially when the second operation was brain surgery . . . you need to prepare yourselves for the possibility that she might not make it through the night," Dr. Shepherd told the two boys, morosely.

Chuck and Nate, mouths agape with shock, didn't know what to do with themselves.

"I did everything I could. I'm sorry I can't give you better news," the doctor said, quietly leaving the room.

Nate sank to his knees, hitting them hard on the linoleum covered cement of the floor. _A world without Jenny? _He didn't know how to live in a world without Jenny. Tears formed in his eyes and he made no effort to hide or quell them.

On impulse, Nate jetted out of Chuck's room and followed the person who had brought him such bad, unfathomable news. He put a hand on the doctor's shoulder, twisting him around to face him, "I _need_ to _see_ her."

Wordlessly, Dr. Shepherd led him to the lone I.C.U. room and punched in the code that unsealed the clear glass chamber and moved a section of it aside like a sliding glass door.

The doctor stole one of the comfortable chairs from another room and placed it at Jenny's bedside. Nate didn't hesitate to sink into the soft cushions, fixing his gaze on his love.

"Sit with her, talk to her, sing to her," Dr. Shepherd told him, his voice empathetic. "It may not seem like it, but there's a good chance she'll hear you and if she loves you as much as you seem to love her it'll help her fight through the night."

The doctor left him alone with Jenny. He was surprised to find that they hadn't shaved her head; aside from a few bandages her hair was still in the same punky, funky, chic hairstyle she'd had when he'd run into her in the park before . . . before all this. He couldn't see the part of skull they'd removed to relieve the pressure and was thankful . . . it was a picture he was sure he'd never get out his mind.

"Jenny," Nate breathed, uncertain if his voice would hold. "I don't know if I can do this," he admitted. "I don't know if I can sit by your side and watch you like this – I don't know if I'm strong enough.

"I do _know_ that I _can't_ live in this world without _you_ in it with me," his voice cracked, tears sliding down his cheeks. "I need you to fight Jen, I need you to survive this . . . I can't do this . . . this_ life_ without you.

"Do you remember the Masquerade ball last year? I thought you were Serena because you'd traded masks and you had that black thing around your shoulders over that _sexy_ yellow dress you made – I don't even know what that's called . . . I never told anyone this but I _knew_ it wasn't Serena when I kissed you. Kissing _you_ was _so_ much better . . . I felt so _alive_ when your lips touched mine.

"That's what you make me feel, Jenny . . . You make me feel _alive_ in the most glorious way. It's such a _rush_, but it's sweet too . . . so sweet my heart feels like it's going to _burst_ open . . . Just the thought of you makes all the shit that's going on in my life right now seem _manageable_.

"I guess what I'm _really_ trying to say is that I'm in love with you," Nate admitted, his voice thick with emotion. "I didn't want to say it before . . . when you were awake . . . I thought it would seem cliché or something, like I was only saying it because you were here in a hospital bed and it wouldn't mean anything to you _because_ you were in a hospital bed. But now I realize it _doesn't_ matter _where_ I say it because I could _lose_ you and if you just can't hold on, you need to know the truth . . . I love you, I love you, I love you a _million_ times!

"But I think you _can_ hold on Jenny, I _know_ you can. I've _seen_ you fight before . . . that's what you _are_ Jenny . . . a _fighter_, a _survivor_. I _need_ you to survive this, hun, because I'm not strong enough. Don't _make_ me live in a world without _you_ in it.

"If you can hear me, baby, _fight_! Fight tooth and nail to get through this night! If you can't do it for yourself, do it for _me_! Just fight . . . even if you only want to spite fate . . . Fight as hard as you can and don't _ever_ stop because that's who you _are_, Jenny Humphrey! Just be yourself and you'll be fine . . . and I _swear_ . . . if you do this for me . . . if you survive this night . . . I'll do _everything_ in my power to make you as _happy_ as a person could possibly _hope_ to be because that's how you make _me_ feel . . . because that's what you _deserve_ . . . Hell, if _that_ doesn't make you want to fight, then fight because you have _hundreds_ of dress designs inside that head of yours just _waiting_ to _burst_ out of the tip of your pen!"

Nate couldn't speak any longer, his voice simply failed him. All he could do now was hold her hand and pray, something he'd never done before. He didn't know if he was doing it right, but he prayed so hard it made his head hurt.

Nurse Westwick came in then, very quietly. As a nurse she was trained to be observant, and it had not been lost on her that this young man loved this girl with all his heart. It was obvious and she felt for him. She'd learned his name from listening in the hall while he talked to Chuck Bass and when the others had come to visit.

"Nate?" She whispered gently, hoping not to scare the bejesus out of him.

He looked up at her, asking what she wanted with his eyes, still streaming with tears over his love's plight.

"You've been here for over forty-eight hours, you need to sleep or you'll end up in a hospital bed yourself. Let me give you something to help," she pleaded, noting that he really did look sick.

"I _can't_ leave her, I _won't_ leave her," Nate was adamant.

"At least drink this," she replied, handing him a glass of water. He didn't know it, but she'd slipped a few drops of liquid Klonopin, a muscle-relaxer among other things into the glass.

Chuck Bass had requested that she do so, in not so many words, slipping her another $500 bill. It was important to him that he take care of both his friend and his cousin.

Nate was so tired already and with no food in his stomach to absorb the drug, he was out fast. Though it was generally against the rules, she had orderlies pick him up, moved the chair he was sitting in out from under him, stretched a cot out next to the girl's bed and had the orderlies lower him onto it. Even though the orderlies jostled his body during the switch, Nate never lost hold of her hand.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia (he and Willow never cheated, they never broke up, she and Angel never had a thing, and she didn't die – sorry but I hated Anya and Xander together and I can't see him with Vanessa. Also, he doesn't lose his eye.)

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she's a junior at Constance Billiard when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl. I know in the series Chuck only has a personal suite, but a personal penthouse just works out better for the storyline. Also, Chuck actually raped Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party, but nobody knows, not even Chuck himself.

Rating: K for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 5 – S.S.D.D. (Same Shit Different Day)

Nate woke a good eight hours after he'd been slipped the mickey, his hand still entwined with Jenny's warm, alive one. Pushing himself into an upright position on the luxurious cot he'd awoken on, he looked at his watch. It was 11:13 in the morning. He listened to the heart monitoring machine chirping every time her heart beat and rejoiced . . . Jenny had made it through the night . . . she'd survived.

"Good morning, Nathaniel," Chuck's voice came out of nowhere. Nowhere turned out to be the furthest corner in the room.

As much as he didn't want to, Nate pulled his hand out of Jenny's grasp and faced his friend, "You drugged me."

"I did," Chuck made no apologies. "Someone had to do it Nathaniel. You were barely breathing after everything that happened. You should have seen how sickly you were looking. Blair wouldn't have tried to force-feed you if you hadn't looked appalling," Chuck said, "and that was hours before you actually went to sleep. Admit it – you feel better."

Nate glowered at him, angry at his once upon a time best friend for robbing him of the chance to watch over the angel in the bed next to him. As angry as he was, he did, however, have to admit that he felt better, "Fine."

"Don't worry, Nathaniel," Chuck assured him, "I watched over the both of you. It was really quite sweet. You even said her name a couple times while you slept."

~*~

Chuck punched in the code to the I.C.U. room that Jenny and Nate were currently resting in. It was the only I.C.U. setup in the entire clinic. Pulling his I.V. tower along with him, he dragged the chair Nate had been sitting in before he'd been placed on the cot and set it on the other side of Jenny's bed.

He looked at the heavily bandaged girl lying in the bed and felt like an alien in a habitat that was not his own. He marveled at Jenny Humphrey and her incredible knack for making even the most stubborn and cold-hearted people feel all warm and fuzzy. In his case, it wasn't the warm and fuzzy she brought out in him, it was the overprotective brother and the ashamed assailant.

"Jenny," Chuck said, his voice a whisper, not wanting to disturb Nate. "I know that my voice probably isn't the one you want to be hearing right now and I'm sorry for that, but I have to ask you to fight. I need you to fight for Nate.

"He really loves you, and he's my best friend. He finally knows what he wants and it's you, so you have to fight for him.

"I also need you to fight because I haven't yet had the chance to apologize to you for my behavior at the Kiss on the Lips Party. I need you to survive so I can make it up to you, so I can show you how completely abashed and ashamed I am for how I acted and for the snippets of nightmares that appear in my dreams, snippets that make me think I might just be the monster everyone makes me out to be. I need to make amends. I'm asking you to fight for selfish reasons I know, but fight anyway. Blair isn't the only girl who makes me want to be a better person . . . I take one look at you and remember what I did and I want to be the kind of person you could forgive, someone that someday you might even want call your friend . . . so please,_ please_ make it through the night."

He didn't dare touch her and when he was finished he dragged the chair to the corner of the room furthest from the sleeping pair and settled in to watch over them until Nate, at least, was awake.

~*~

Nate nodded stiffly and turned back toward Jenny. Half her face was covered in thick white gauze, concealing her swollen purple eye and the rest of the bruising on her face. The part that _was_ visible was absolutely perfect, breath-taking even, in his biased opinion. He reached for her hand again just as Dr. Shepherd entered the room.

"Well, as the two of you can see Miss Bass made it through the night without one scare. Her vitals this morning are a thing of beauty," Dr. Shepherd informed them. "I plan on doing daily CT scans and EEGs just to make sure she's on the path to healing properly, but I'm very optimistic. Your cousin's a fighter Mr. Bass."

"I'm aware," Chuck stated simply, pleased with the news. "Thank you doctor . . . for everything. I know that this was a pro bono surgery, but I have to insist on _some_ sort of compensation for your services. You saved my cousin's life."

"I have a very healthy private practice that allows me to enjoy the luxury of pro bono work, Mr. Bass. I don't do this job for the money, though I get compensated well for my expertise, I do it to save lives, which is precisely what I did for your cousin. I need no more compensation than that," Dr. Shepherd insisted.

"Perhaps you could leave me with a business card then . . . just in case I ever end up with another cousin in need of traumatic brain surgery," Chuck requested, also insistent.

Dr. Shepherd reluctantly pulled a stock paper rectangle out of his lab coat and offered it to Chuck, who took it without a word.

"Thank you so much doctor," now it was Nate's chance to thank the man who had played such a vital role in saving Jenny's life. He stood up from the cot and held out his hand. Dr. Shepherd shook it strongly and smiled at him.

"I only did half the work, Nate, is it? From what I heard, you were up half the night talking to her . . . that as much as the surgery solidified her well-being this morning. I hope the two of you make it. It isn't often in life that a person finds their soul mate. It's very rare indeed. Take care of each other," Dr. Shepherd advised, wisdom leaking out of him like water from a faucet.

"I plan to," Nate said, a fierceness in his voice that only proved to Dr. Shepherd even more that the two teenagers were the real deal, and how lucky they were to find each other at such a young age. He wished he had that at home with his wife.

Dr. Shepherd nodded at him, squeezed his hand supportively once before letting go, and left the room.

"Nathaniel, we need to discuss where our plan goes from here," Chuck said, ever the schemer.

"What do you mean?" Nate asked, clearly confused. There was no plan but to stay by Jenny's side until she opened those intense blue eyes of hers.

"In order for this ruse to work, you have to go to school," Chuck reasoned, looking down at his watch. "You should probably head there now, in fact. Lunch is almost over."

"Go to school?" Nate asked, even more confused than ever. "I'm staying here . . . with Jenny."

"Jenny ran_ away_, Nate," Chuck pointed out. "She doesn't _want_ anyone to know where she is, comatose or no. No one will ever believe that you'd spend _all_ your time in here visiting me after our friendship-implosion a few weeks ago. It's believable that we'd make up because of 'my' _ordeal_, but you camping out here . . . it doesn't make any _sense_. You need to act normal until Jenny is able to make her _own_ decisions about _when_ and _who_ she wants to let in on her whereabouts. That means going to school everyday, never missing soccer practice and setting up shop in my penthouse. It also wouldn't hurt if you stayed away from the hospital as much as possible."

Nate opened his mouth to protest, but Chuck wouldn't let him, "I _know_ you don't want to leave her, Nathaniel. I _know_ how much you love her, or I can _imagine_ at the very least, but, if you want to respect her wishes, it's got to be S.S.D.D. for you until she's back on her feet or at least out of her coma."

"S.S.D.D., right," Nate confirmed, hating it whole-heartedly. How could he be expected to go to school and soccer practice and act normal, like his heart wasn't residing in a hospital bed with his girl?

"I'll look after her for you, and when I can't I'll make sure she's taken care of by the_ best_ here. If there's any news, I'll text you. Plus, I'll call and let you know when it's safe to come here and be with Jenny. It's not a good idea for you to sleep here every night considering the hours Serena keeps. We don't want her to get suspicious of where you're going at all hours of the night. She's a curious girl, but Blair will come in handy for keeping track of her whereabouts. I'll make sure you get to spend as much time with Jenny as possible, I promise," and Chuck meant it. "But like I said before, it's got to be S.S.D.D."

"Blair really _has_ done a number on you," Nate said, trying to reconcile what he knew of Chuck and his schemes from before (the ones that had torn their friendship to pieces) and the behavior he was displaying now right before his very eyes.

"I'd be lying if I said she _didn't_ have a positive effect on me," Chuck admitted. "You _really_ think if I just _tell_ her I love her that everything would be okay between us?"

"You remember our conversation!" Nate was amazed considering how superbly high Chuck had been at the time.

"Every word," Chuck shrugged, having a hard time believing that he remembered the conversation as well, knowing exactly how high he had been.

"I _know_ Blair and I _know_ she loves you. It might be a little weird at first, but I think things would eventually turn out really well between the two of you. You're already great together as stubborn as the two of you are. You'll be even greater if you're totally _honest_ with each other and admit what is so _obviously_ there between the two of you," Nate responded, wisely. "I better head to school. Is there a back way out of here so I don't get caught by Gossip Girl _again_?"

Chuck pushed his nurse call button. Nurse Westwick appeared a few seconds later, fresh from a nice, long nap in the on-call room.

"Please escort my friend out the more discreet exit, Ms. Westwick," Chuck requested politely.

"Of course," she responded pleasantly, the perkiness of her personality more palpable now that the two boys had some decent sleep under their belts, "and it's Mrs. Westwick, but I prefer you to call me nurse while on the job, Mr. Bass."

"As you wish," Chuck agreed. The pair disappeared down the hall.

~*~

Nate only had to walk a few blocks to get to school. He stared up at St. Jude's with distaste, mentally playing "Anywhere but here" and imagining himself sitting at Jenny's bedside or better yet on the white beaches of the Hamptons – Jenny in a bikini and him in board shorts soaking up the sun and holding hands while they people watched and talked about the weird guy that always showed up to the beach in a leopard print thong.

"S.S.D.D.," Nate cursed, shrugging and heading into the building, steeling himself for the monotony of school.

Lunch was not yet over and he was able to grab his normal turkey on wheat sandwich complete with apple, carrot sticks, chocolate pudding, bottle of water and carton of 2% milk. He was surprised how hungry he was even though it had been over two days since he'd eaten last. He sat down at the only empty table and prayed that no one bothered him. His prayer went unanswered.

"How's Chuck?" Blair and Serena plopped down next to him, not bothering to be ladylike, Nate knew them too well for that.

"He's doing well first day post-op," Nate informed them clearly, pretending like he knew what he was talking about. It was a damned good thing he watched "House," or he'd be screwed.

"I'm going to the clinic right after school," Blair said, her voice still filled with worry. She could always find something to fuss over even if you told her that world peace was in full swing or that Prada was having a 50% off sale, which, to Blair, would have been the equivalent of world peace.

"Good," Nate intoned, "he's missed you."

Blair smiled brightly, temporarily forgetting her worry. She whipped out her cell phone and dialed Chuck's number, chattering away happily at her healing non-boyfriend.

"Hey Nate," Serena said, speaking for the first time, "have you heard from Jenny?"

Nate froze, the bite of sandwich he was swallowing suddenly irreversibly stuck in his throat. With much concentration, he forced the lump of bread, turkey and cheese down his esophagus and asked, stonily, "Did Dan ask you to ask me?"

"No . . . yes . . . no," Serena struggled. "He did ask me to ask you but I'm really worried about her too. No one has seen or heard from her since she cleared out her things at the loft."

Nate played dumb, "She moved out of the loft?"

"Yeah . . . the same night as her guerilla fashion show," Serena told him, her forehead creased with distress.

"I'm sorry, Serena," Nate proclaimed, plastering an apologetic façade on his handsome face, the worry he genuinely felt for Jenny popping up too, "she hasn't called me. I hope she's okay . . . I really care about her," and that wasn't a lie, his voice genuine.

Serena stared Nate in the face full-on, her gaze exploring the features that had been a staple in her life since early childhood. "Wow!"

"What?" Nate asked, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

"You're in _love_ with Jenny," Serena stated bluntly, just as Chuck had the night before, supremely shocked at the notion. "I figured you cared after seeing the two of you on Gossip Girl, but I never thought your feelings ran this deep. You've never _been_ in love before . . . not with me, not with Blair, not with Vanessa, but you _are_ with Jenny. Admit it," she demanded.

"Fine! I'm in love with Jenny Humphrey," Nate said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world to say. "You of all people should get what it's like to fall for a Humphrey. I didn't do it on purpose . . . it just happened."

"Whoa! What?" Blair had just ended her call with Chuck and had only heard the last part of the conversation. Then she, too, stared at Nate as if she were examining him under a microscope. Like his other two old friends, she came to the same conclusion just by scrutinizing his face. "Wow!"

"_Really_?" Nate asked, flustered. "Is that _all_ any of you can think to say? _Seriously_?"

"You're in love with Jenny Humphrey," Blair intoned, in shock just like Serena. "You never loved me, you didn't love Serena, and you sure as hell didn't love Vanessa, but you _love_ Jenny."

"This conversation is getting really old," Nate bridled, feeling as though he had to defend himself and what he felt. "Chuck and I had exactly the same one last night and now you two . . . Is it _really_ such a _bad_ thing that I fell for her? Have I committed some sort of _crime_ or something?"

"_No_," Blair and Serena answered in unison. "We're just . . . surprised, that's all," Blair continued.

"_Why_? Why is it so fucking _surprising_? Because she's from _Brooklyn_ and not the Upper East Side? Because you made her your _slave_ her freshman year and she decided she didn't want _you_ and not the other way around? Or is it because she's got more talent coming out of her _pinkie_ finger than the both of you put together?" Nate hadn't meant to lash out at his oldest friends, but he simply couldn't figure out what was so surprising about him falling for Jenny, and the triple identical reaction was making him angry, fueled by the fact that the object of his very true affection was lying in a hospital bed just blocks away from him and it was killing him not to be by her side, filling his palm with hers instead of his bland turkey sandwich. "And how do _you_ know whether or not I've ever been in love anyway? Do you live inside my head?" He snapped at Serena before turning to Blair. "And honestly Blair, you love _Chuck_ for shit-sake, and you're both giving _me_ a hard time about loving _Jenny_? I thought you both_ liked_ her now," Nate marveled. The three girls had become friends last year after a mutual cease-fire between Blair and Jenny. "After everything the three of us have been through together, I thought you'd be more supportive of me; _especially_ since I have to stay _away_ from her because of Dan and the fact that _he's_ been a better friend to me the last few weeks than either of _you_."

Blair and Serena sat there completely immobilized by Nate's outburst, their faces equally wide-eyed and slack-jawed. There was a small part of both of them that was angry at Nate for being mean, but he wasn't wrong.

"Sorry, Natie," Serena whispered, using her and Blair's old nickname for him. She could see how miserable he was, he was clearly suffering over Jenny's disappearance just as much as Dan and Rufus were . . . and when Jenny was_ finally_ back home safe and sound, Nate couldn't go near her. At least she and Blair could _be_ with the people they loved. Maybe she should try and work on Dan a little.

"Yeah, sorry Natie," Blair whispered just after Serena. "You must be going crazy not knowing anything and not being able to ask anyone that might, and we do know you've never been in love because we _know_ you, Natie, which makes this doubly hard because it isn't the love/hate kind of love is it? It's that pure, sweet, soul mate kind of love that everybody talks about but _almost_ never finds," she continued referring to her feelings for Chuck and Serena's feelings for Dan. She and Chuck may have had the love/hate kind of love but it didn't make them any less soul mates, and Dan and Serena were still madly in love despite their parents dating and sharing a sibling from said parents.

"_Seriously_?" Nate exclaimed, unable to believe his ears as Blair spouted out almost exactly the same word Chuck had used the previous night. "You and Chuck need to spend less time together because you're starting to say the same things and it's really freaking me out! There's only so much déjà vu a guy can handle and, personally, I've had my fill for the day."

"Chuck said that?" Blair marveled, her sense of shock redoubling, quickly losing sight of the conversation at hand kind of like a dog that couldn't concentrate on his or her training because they already knew the trainer had treats.

"Yep," Nate answered, shortly, "but he was terrifically stoned at the time, between the remnants of the anesthesia and the morphine pumping through his veins."

Blair's face softened in a dramatic way, like her life was a movie and she was the star, as she thought of the man she loved having to use morphine for his pain. She was so deep into the role that she was a lost cause, but Serena wasn't so he leaned into her side and spoke softly.

"When I cleared out of there I wrote Jenny a letter and mailed it," Nate divulged, confidentially, trying as hard as he could to deflect any suspicion onto himself. "_Promise_ me you won't let Dan rip it up when it arrives, Serena. Please?"

"Dan and Jenny are my _priority_ right now, Nate," Serena bristled, but seeing the pitiful look on his face and remembering how long she and Nate had been friends, how long they'd loved each other, and the conversation they'd just had, she cracked a little. "If I get to it before Dan does, I'll keep it for her. Right now I just hope she's okay."

"Me too," Nate conveyed and he wasn't lying. "I know I've already said it, but would you please tell Dan I'm sorry and that I promise if I hear from Jenny I'll let him know?"

"Yeah," Serena conceded, "I can definitely do that."

"Thank you," Nate impressed upon her, truly grateful. He continued to eat but at a much slower pace than before the two girls he'd known practically since birth had shown up to pester him. The lunch bell sounded and the three of them scattered, sprinting off to their separate classes.

Nate had no idea how he'd managed to survive the last three classes of the day, which in his case were his first. Each one had seemed an eternity, and boredom had sunk in to such a level that he daydreamed of the moment Jenny would open her eyes and smile at him again, barely aware each time the bell had signaled the end of each torturous hour.

Now he was off to soccer practice. Too late, he remembered that Dan was on the soccer team now too as he spied the other young man's dark head. He'd thought that soccer practice would be the easiest to endure because it was so encompassing. Dan didn't bother looking in his direction so he pretended that he wasn't there and poured himself into the plays.

"Nice work today, Archibald," the coach complimented, nodding at Nate with approval. Nate gave a short nod back.

"Not bad for a rookie, Humphrey," Nate heard the coach praise Dan as well as he headed off to the showers.

They were the only two left in the locker room and the showers, which was awkward. Dan wasn't in a talking mood and neither was Nate; he was too preoccupied with Jenny's condition and he was fairly certain that Dan was similarly occupied. Nate snuck a look at Dan and felt the urge to confess everything to him. Jenny was his sister, and Nate still considered Dan a friend despite the nasty turn his feelings had taken toward Nate upon discovering him in a lip-lock with his little sister on Gossip Girl. It just didn't feel right keeping the truth from him, but he had to, and it wasn't because he cared whether or not Jenny would be pissed at him for telling her family where she was and what had happened. It was because he knew that Rufus would insist on paying for Jenny's hospital bills and he knew that the elder Humphrey could never afford the expenses two highly aggressive surgeries and the recovery processes they would rack up_ and_ send Dan to Yale. He had to let Chuck take care of everything just as he was doing if he wanted his friend to have a chance at his dream of going to ivy-league Yale and keep the girl he loved alive at the same time.

He took an extra hot, extra long shower when he remembered he'd been holed up in a hospital for the past two days without bathing, and also to avoid Dan in the locker room as he dressed. Thankfully the other boy was long gone when Nate approached his locker and changed into the spare clothing he kept stashed at St. Jude's just in case he needed to be somewhere after school and didn't want to wear his uniform. He stuffed the dirty clothing from the hospital and his soccer laundry into the spare duffel bag he kept in his locker. He didn't always like to lug around his sports duffel and since he'd come straight from the hospital, he didn't even have a school bag to begin with, so it was a good thing he was always prepared.

Now it was off to Chuck's penthouse. Nate decided to walk the dozen blocks to Chuck's residence. He went through the double doors in front of the hotel trying to avoid being seen by anyone he knew. Luck was obviously not on his side that day because when the elevator doors opened to take him up to Chuck's penthouse, Dan and Serena stared back at him.

"Nate!" Serena squeaked, nervously. Though she loved them in different ways, she still loved both of them no matter what and it made her uncomfortable being in a position where she was caught in the middle. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm living here," Nate informed her, "in Chuck's penthouse since I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Oh! Okay," Serena couldn't think of anything else to say, "That's good! I guess I'll be seeing you around then."

"Yeah, I guess," Nate said, unenthusiastic. He looked to Dan, who was carefully avoiding anything and anywhere near Nate.

Nate got into the elevator with a small wave to Serena, who smiled at him awkwardly.

He pulled out the familiar key to Chuck's penthouse, a key he'd had since he was fourteen. He never thought his life would turn out like this, that he'd be using the penthouse as a charity case. His stuff was already placed in the room he always slept in when he crashed with Chuck. He let himself free fall onto the very large, very comfortable bed and stared at the ceiling.

The next few days were nearly the same, with minor exceptions. Everyday after school, Nate would crack open a bottle of Sierra Nevada pale ale and toasted to the air.

"S.S.D.D.," he said, bitterly.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia (he and Willow never cheated, they never broke up, she and Angel never had a thing, and she didn't die – sorry but I hated Anya and Xander together and I can't see him with Vanessa. Also, he doesn't lose his eye – I like my Xander whole.)

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she and Eric are juniors at Constance Billiard and St. Jude's when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl. I know in the series Chuck only has a personal suite, but a personal penthouse just works out better for the storyline. Also, Chuck actually raped Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party, but nobody knows, not even Chuck himself.

Rating: K+ for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 6 – Seven Days

Seven days . . . It had been seven days since Dr. Shepherd had operated on Jenny's brain and induced her coma. After numerous CT scans, MRIs and EEGs, Dr. Shepherd was confident enough in Jenny's ability to heal to decide to take her off the regimen of medication that was keeping her comatose. Nate thanked God it was a Saturday, even though it was seven o'clock in the morning.

Chuck had been released on Thursday and had spent the majority of his time with Blair, but he was here now, with Nate, having sent Blair, who dragged along Penelope, Kati, and Isabel after Serena refused to leave Dan, on a highly priced treasure hunt, leaving clues all over Manhattan. It didn't even start until 10:00 am, but it would take hours for her to complete; thereby, leaving Chuck free to be there when Jenny woke up . . . that is, if she came out of the coma in a timely manner.

"It may take her awhile to wake up . . . if she wakes up," Dr. Shepherd added, gravely. Nate was really beginning to dislike the utterly likeable man – he was always giving him bad news.

"I thought the whole reason you're taking her _off_ the coma meds is because she is healing well," Nate spat, angrily squeezing his fists shut, digging his fingernails into his palms and then opening them again and repeating the gesture, as though he wanted to get a good stranglehold around the doctor's neck.

"Miss Bass started off with two small unnoticed bleeds to the right temporal and frontal lobes of her brain, Nate," Dr. Shepherd explained, empathetic with his anger and comfortable enough with the young man to use his first name. "When we opened her up, the bleeds were more severe than what was shown on the CT scan. As you already know, we were able to stop the bleeding and repair the tears that caused the bleeds in the first place. However, when blood is introduced to brain matter it becomes necrotic," he paused, taking in the two's puzzled expressions. "It kills the tissue exposed to the blood," he elaborated, Nate and Chuck now looking quite scared. "We removed the dead tissue. There wasn't much to remove though because the necrosis had only just started to spread when we got in there.

"There was only minor damage but the brain is complex and even the most minor damage can cause a lot of complications, including death, but I'm confident that Miss Bass will wake up because she appears to be healing at an alarmingly rapid rate . . . however, that doesn't mean she'll be the same girl she was before the surgery," Dr. Shepherd concluded.

"What exactly does _that_ mean?" Chuck demanded, getting angry himself.

"It could mean anything from loss of verbal skills to amnesia . . . or nothing at all . . . we simply won't know until she wakes up," Dr. Shepherd wasn't happy about what he'd had to tell the two young men but it was the truth, and ugly as it might be, they had to prepare themselves for the worst. "If there is some sort of problem, we have therapies available at my private practice that she can utilize free of charge. If I have to operate again to repair damage, then that's what we'll do. I'm seeing this case through to the very end gentlemen. I won't stop until Miss Bass has fully recovered, if that's a possibility."

Nate struggled to breathe. Therapies? More surgery? He flexed his hands again, this time imagining them around Agnes' throat, and suddenly oxygen flooded into his lungs as he pictured strangling the life out of that little model whore. If she hadn't been a bitch and a thief to begin with Jenny wouldn't even _be_ in this situation. She'd be safe at home in the loft with Rufus and Dan. He put the two men out of his mind . . . he had to if he was going to settle himself in to wait for Jenny to become coherent.

One hour passed and Dr. Shepherd came in to check on her . . . another hour passed with the same routine . . . three hours, if she didn't wake up soon Nate was going to go crazy . . . four hours, he was certain he was certifiable by then . . . five hours, and finally she moved. Her hand twitched slowly and curled into a fist, at least that was what Nate and Chuck thought it was initially. After watching for a few seconds they realized that she held her hand as though she were gripping some sort of writing implement and that she was moving her wrist as though she were sluggishly drawing something.

Nate rushed from his place on the floor facing the right side of her bed and pressed the nurse call button. He hadn't been able to bear the thought of sitting there holding her hand if she wasn't going to wake up, clutching it as it got colder and colder in his warm one.

Dr. Shepherd appeared in the room half a minute later with Dr. Crawford and Nurse Westwick on his heels. He checked Jenny's vitals, which were strong, shined a light in both of her eyes . . . her pupils were reactive so that was a good sign. "It shouldn't be long now before she's fully awake."

~*~

Jenny's P.O.V.

Jenny was aware for the first time in how long, she didn't know. Time wasn't really a concept she understood, still being half in a coma and all; but she knew that she existed, though she couldn't quite put a finger on what to call her existence. Her instincts told her to move but her body wouldn't obey. She pushed herself harder and harder until finally something moved, but she wasn't sure what had finally listened . . . all she knew was that part of her was alive even though the meaning of that didn't really make sense to her at the moment either. She just focused on keeping whatever it was that was moving to continue moving. Things were dark because she couldn't get her eyes to open, and then, suddenly, a bright light flashed before her twice, blinding her and she wanted to shrink away from it because it scared her, but she still couldn't move anything but her hand. Faintly, she began to hear sound . . . mumbled cacophony that hurt her ears even though it was very quiet. It was then that her vocal chords started working again, in the form of a hushed whimper that nobody heard over Dr. Shepherd's conclusion that it wouldn't be much longer before she was fully awake.

~*~

Nate's P.O.V.

"Congratulations, gentlemen," the neurosurgeon smiled at them, "we've jumped over the first few hurdles, now we just need to finish the race."

Chuck didn't really want to leave, but he thought it would be better to give Nate some time alone with Jenny, so he made up an excuse to leave for a little while, "I'm going to go get us some food, Nathaniel," he informed his friend and then added, "_Be_ with her, don't let her wake up without you by her side."

Nate nodded and dragged one of the very familiar plush chairs over to Jenny's bedside and took her moving hand in his.

~*~

Jenny's P.O.V.

Jenny was startled when she couldn't move anymore but for some reason she wasn't scared. It wasn't that she _couldn't_ move, it was that someone was touching her and on a basic instinctual level she knew the touch better than anything she could fathom in her current condition. It was then that her ears started to work better, allowing sounds to come in as they were and not as a jumbled mess.

~*~

Nate's P.O.V.

"Jenny," Nate whispered, gently. "It's time for you to wake up, hun . . . It's time for you to come back to me."

The voice she heard was sweet and loving and it enveloped her in a sense of peace. She wanted to do what it asked of her, so she fought harder and harder until she thought she might die with the effort.

"Jenny," Nate whispered again, "come back to me . . . open those beautiful blue eyes."

~*~

Jenny's P.O.V.

The voice was so lovely she thought she might be in heaven and it was instinctual for her to want to heed its desires, so she continued to fight and fight for what seemed like an eternity.

~*~

Nate's P.O.V.

Half an hour later, Nate noticed that Jenny's eyelids were fluttering as if they were about to open. After a minute or two, they finally did and she blinked rapidly for several seconds before stopping and taking in her surroundings.

~*~

Jenny's P.O.V.

It had been the hardest thing she'd ever done but she'd managed to open her eyes. She'd blinked for a while, partly because she felt like her eyes had been crusted shut, partly because they were dry and painful, and partly because she didn't understand what she was seeing. Flashes of orange, green, and white danced in her vision but she didn't know they were called orange, green, and white. Color, something she'd loved since she was a baby and often incorporated in her designs, was scary to her now and she squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut. Nothing made sense.

"Jenny?" Nate queried, worry in his voice. "It's okay . . . you don't have to be scared . . . I'm here with you and I'm not going to leave."

She heard the sweet voice again and felt comforted, like everything would be okay if she was just brave enough to open her eyes, so she did and she found herself gazing at the most beautiful creature she'd ever seen. Without the slightest bit of trouble, she breathed his name, "Nate."

Nate smiled so wide it hurt his face and felt hot tears flowing down his cheeks, "You didn't forget me."

Jenny smiled back tentatively as if the movement was foreign to her. Memories of Nate began to flood into her mind. His intense, expressive blue eyes, the times he'd helped her out of a jam, though those memories were blurry and abstract, the touch of his hand to her shoulder, the feel of his lips on hers. He was Nate and he was there with her and that swiftly made everything else unimportant.

Nate pushed the nurse call button again. Just as before, Dr. Shepherd was there in seconds with Dr. Crawford and Nurse Westwick on his heels.

"How long has she been awake?" Dr. Shepherd asked, all business.

"A couple minutes," Nate answered, happily. "She remembers me!"

Upon seeing that his patient was awake and smiling, he immediately started quizzing her so he could assess her condition and whether or not she had any permanent brain damage.

"Miss Bass?" Dr. Shepherd asked tentatively. He had to ascertain whether or not she knew who she was. He'd found that some patients, though rare, could have no idea who _they_ were but could remember a person they had had particularly strong feelings for. "I'm Dr. Shepherd. Do you know what your name is?"

Jenny opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a yelp. She tried again with the same result. She didn't even know if she knew what her name was, though the letter J seemed to be a part of it. She remembered that much at least.

"J," she said, her voice unsure, "Li . . . Litt . . . Little J."

Dr. Shepherd looked to Nate, who nodded anxiously, "It's one of her nicknames."

"J, I'm going to ask you some questions now. All you have to do is answer them, okay?"

Jenny nodded but was distracted by the entrance of Chuck, wielding bags of food for him and Nate.

"_Chuck_," she said, her voice clear as a bell and colored with fear. She remembered a rooftop and his body pressed up against hers, but she had a tiny notion that no one else knew about this so she pulled herself together and let the fear drain out of her eyes to form an indifference.

"Thank God you're awake!" Chuck exclaimed, dropping the bags to the floor and moving toward the bed to make sure his eyes and ears weren't playing tricks on him. Her eyes briefly changed to a warning that only he saw, stopping him in his tracks. She remembered the Kiss on the Lips Party and whatever it was he'd done to her, but that didn't change the fact that he was happy she was awake. "It's so good to see your eyes open!"

Jenny heard the concern and genuine relief that saturated Chuck's voice and faltered. He wasn't the same guy she remembered on the rooftop, he carried himself differently, like maybe he gave a damn about her feelings. She could see it in his eyes.

"Okay J," Dr. Shepherd proceeded. "First I need to know if you know what hands are . . . can you hold them up for me if you do?"

It took her a minute but she finally held up her hands.

"Good, that's very good, what about fingers? Can you wiggle," he demonstrated a wiggle, "them for me if you know what they are?"

It took another minute but eventually she wiggled her fingers.

"Excellent J," Dr. Shepherd encouraged her, warmly. "How about the number one? Can you show me with your fingers what number one looks like?"

Another minute went by before she raised her right index finger.

"Perfect, J! You're doing great!" Nate noticed that Dr. Shepherd knew exactly when to be encouraging and paternal, when to be a doctor and only a doctor, and when it was appropriate to mix the two . . . in other words, he was _really_ good at his job. "You know the number one, what's the number after that? Show me with your fingers again, okay?"

Another minute . . .

Jenny held up her right index and middle fingers to demonstrate the number two.

"Wonderful! Can you tell me what that number is called? Take your time . . . there's no hurry."

Another minute . . .

"T . . . t-t . . . two," Jenny struggled.

"J you're doing great!" Dr. Shepherd enthused. "Can you say one?"

Another minute . . .

"Wuh . . . wuh . . . one."

"Very good, J. Now I want to do a little test. Are you okay with that?"

Jenny nodded.

"You still remember fingers and what the numbers one and two look like, right?"

Jenny nodded again.

"Excellent! This is what I want you to do, okay? When I hold up the number one, like this," he demonstrated by holding up his right index finger, "I want you to hold up the number two with your fingers, like this," he demonstrated again with his right index and middle fingers, "and when I hold up the number two," he flashed his two fingers again, "I want you to hold up the number one with your fingers. Do you understand what I want from you?"

A third nod.

Dr. Shepherd held up the number two with his right hand. Jenny stared at him blankly. He held up the number one. Another blank stare. With his left hand he held out the number one. Yet another blank stare. The number two . . . Jenny couldn't concentrate. Maybe if he slowed down a little before switching . . . The number two on his other hand . . . nothing. The number one . . . weakly Jenny raised her right hand up, first sticking up her index finger and then uncurling her middle one from the fist she'd been holding . . . The number two . . . she lowered her middle finger . . . The number two on Dr. Shepherd's other hand . . . she held up her index finger a little higher . . . The number one . . . her middle finger rose again . . . The number two . . . Jenny's hand dropped from exhaustion and for a second her face was blank, but then she surprised them all, "Wuh . . . one."

"Beautiful!" Dr. Shepherd exclaimed as though Jenny had just shown him one of her best works of art. "Wonderful job, J!"

Jenny smiled and looked at Nate, who smiled back. Then she looked at Chuck who was also smiling, and it wasn't his usual smarmy, smug, smirk . . . it was a genuine, happy smile that went straight up to his eyes. It was odd, but sort of comforting though not in the same way that Nate was comforting . . . she couldn't put her finger on it exactly.

"How are you feeling, Miss Bass? Are you up for another test or would you like to rest now?" Dr. Shepherd asked, patiently.

"Mmm . . . mmm . . . mmuh . . . muh . . . more," she stammered, her tongue feeling very sluggish and big, like it didn't belong in her mouth.

"You still remember fingers, right? Wiggle them for me," Dr. Shepherd demanded, politely.

Jenny wiggled her fingers, but the movement was slow.

"Good! I want you to look at my fingers when they start to wiggle and whatever side they're on I want you to look to the other side and picture my fingers wiggling as if they were on that side in the exact same spot. Do you understand what I mean?"

Jenny struggled to comprehend, but eventually she felt she had a good enough grasp on the instructions and nodded.

Dr. Shepherd wiggled his fingers just barely to her right, but Jenny found that her head was very heavy and it didn't want to move for her. The wiggling fingers moved to her far left but she still couldn't move her head. Next the fingers moved about 45 degrees to her right, and something finally occurred to her. She may not have the strength to move her head but she could move her eyes, so she looked about halfway to her left. Dr. Shepherd noticed the change. He wiggled his fingers one more time about 15 degrees to her left, and she looked to the right but went too far.

"Outstanding," Dr. Shepherd crowed. "You're being very strong, J. Are you able to do one more test? I won't ask anything more from you after for now, but if you want to rest now that's fine too."

"Mmm . . . mmuh . . . more," Jenny faltered again like she was tripping over her own tongue.

"Do you remember the alphabet? The ABCs?"

"Y-y . . . y-ye . . . yes," she answered proudly, still feeling like she was tripping on her own tongue.

"Do you remember the letter 'F'?" Dr. Shepherd asked, not talking to her like she was totally retarded even though that was how she felt.

"Y-ye . . . y-yes," she responded.

"Usually I only give one minute for this exercise but I'm going to give you two since you're having trouble speaking, okay?"

Jenny nodded for the hundredth time.

"First of all, can you pronounce 'F' for me J?"

"Eff," she said clearly.

"Fantastic! I want you to list as many words that start with 'F' as you can remember when I tell you to start," Dr. Shepherd made sure she knew what to do before he said, "Begin."

"F-f . . . f-fa . . . f-fall . . . F-f . . . f-fro . . . f-frown . . . F-f . . . f-fa . . . f-fak . . . fake . . . F-f . . . f-fle . . . f-flew . . . flute . . . F-f . . . f-fr . . . f-fre . . . fresh . . . F-f . . ."

"Alright, J, you can stop now," Dr. Shepherd told her. "You did a magnificent job but now you need to rest." He patted her hand, smiled and left the room, this time with Chuck on his heels.

~*~

Chuck's P.O.V.

"Doctor, may I have a word?" Chuck requested.

"Of course Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd immediately turned his full attention on the young man.

"How is she _really_?"

"She's still got a lot of the medication in her from the induced coma and she's still on a lot of pain meds as well . . . her brain is still healing," Dr. Shepherd tried to dance around the subject but Chuck was not one to be danced around, unless, of course, it happened to be by a certain brunette he happened to be in love with.

"Quit stalling and tell me the truth, doctor," Chuck's voice got a little rougher as he cornered the older man.

"I just performed three neurological exercises to test frontal lobe brain activity . . . and her results were less than stellar. I haven't even tested her temporal lobe yet to see what damage may present itself there. However, as I told you before, she just woke up from a coma, she went through a terrible ordeal and two surgeries before that coma and she's not fully healed yet anywhere . . . just because she's not doing as well as I'd hoped right now doesn't mean she won't later. She just needs more good old fashioned time, Mr. Bass."

"I'd like to transfer her to your practice, Dr. Shepherd," Chuck informed him, "if that's possible."

"We always keep at least two rooms open for pro bono cases and right now they're both empty. I'd definitely feel better having her at my practice where I can keep a closer eye on her. I'll speak to Dr. Crawford about transport arrangements . . . I assume you want to be as discreet as possible?"

"You assume correctly," Chuck established, happy he didn't have to teach another _lesson_. "There are things that you and your staff need to know before we work out the details . . ."

Dr. Shepherd gave him a look, asking him to continue with his eyes, "Nobody is to know that she was ever at _this_ clinic. Any record of a surgery _before_ you operated on her brain at _your_ practice is _not_ to exist. I trust you have ways of hiding surgical incisions since you have a plastic surgeon on staff at your practice. If anyone asks, Nate found her and brought her to you because his family happens to be generous patrons of _your_ practice, and that isn't a lie . . . I know because I did some research. His pediatrician is your wife, Dr. Shepherd, she has been since Nate was seven years old, though she won't be for much longer since Nate turns eighteen soon.

"I might be Jenny's financial backer, and I _will_ pay accordingly, but no one is to _know_ that. To keep this information secret, you will be referring to her by her real name, Jennifer Humphrey, on all documentation pertaining to her as well as when you speak to her or her family and friends while at your clinic. Until she is transferred and remains a patient here, you will continue to refer to her as Miss Bass. When her father and brother come to your practice, you will make it clear to them that she is a pro bono case because you couldn't prove her identity at the time she needed surgery and you didn't have her insurance information. Also, while she's been in a coma, her family has thought that she either ran away or is missing, so there is to be no mention of said coma. It will only raise more questions that Nate and I can't answer right now. Do you understand?"

Chuck held out his hand to the doctor, this time with four $500 bills in his palm. The doctor shook it and was surprised by what he found in his hand. He held out his hand to Chuck, as though he was sealing the deal with a handshake of his own, shaking it very firmly and slipping the bills back into Chuck's fist.

"I understand perfectly well, Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd smiled. "I will do as you have asked only because I believe that _you_ truly believe you are protecting Miss Bass out of affection and responsibility. That is an admirable thing to do, but I won't be lying when I tell her family that she is a pro bono case because that much is true. Everything else will be taken care of as you've requested."

Chuck looked in his hand in disbelief and back up at the smiling neurosurgeon, smiling back in a confused sort of way, "Thank you doctor."

"I saved a life, Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd divulged, as if he was letting Chuck in on some big secret. "If you had any idea how much of a high that is, you'd realize that thank yous are appreciated but irrelevant."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia (he and Willow never cheated, they never broke up, she and Angel never had a thing, and she didn't die – sorry but I hated Anya and Xander together and I can't see him with Vanessa. Also, he doesn't lose his eye – I like my Xander whole.)

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she and Eric are juniors at Constance Billiard and St. Jude's when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl. I know in the series Chuck only has a personal suite, but a personal penthouse just works out better for the storyline. Also, Chuck actually raped Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party, but nobody knows, not even Chuck himself.

Rating: K+ for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 7 – The Plan

Nate was out in the hallway with Chuck. Jenny had been so exhausted from the remnants of the coma meds, the meds that were keeping her body pain-free, and from the effort of participating in Dr. Shepherd's testing that she'd fallen back to sleep as soon as Nate had grasped his hand in hers as he sat by her bedside.

Chuck, however, needed to speak to him and he'd made it clear that it was important, so Nate had delicately unwound his hand from hers, made sure she was still sound asleep and slipped out into the hallway. He was quickly filled in on Dr. Shepherd's assessment of Jenny's current condition, Chuck's desire to have her transferred to Dr. Shepherd's private practice, and how they were going to conduct business from then on out.

"That's all well and good, Chuck, but what am I going to say to Dan, to Rufus about how and where I found her?"

"You came up with a great cover story for finding _me_ in need of surgery, I'm certain you can come up with something else just as worthy," Chuck shrugged, expressing faith in his friend's ability to cook something up.

"It's won't work, Chuck. I was the one that found _you_ and _your driver_ remember? Me finding Jenny _too_ . . . it would all seem a bit too convenient me saving _three_ people's lives in the span of two weeks . . . I think people might get suspicious."

"What do you suggest we do then? We have to come up with _something_!" Chuck argued . . . Blair _couldn't_ find out the truth. If she did he'd _never_ be able to tell her he was in love with her. He gawked at Nate, as if the silent scrutiny would help him figure out a solution. It seemed to work because all of a sudden it looked like a light bulb went off in Nate's head.

"Eric," he said, pleased with his cleverness.

"Eric?" Chuck balked, not getting what his step-brother had to do with getting them out of this jam.

"Serena, Blair, and I all go to the same private practice . . . _Dr. Shepherd's_ private practice, which means that Eric has the same pediatrician as the three of us. If _he_ was the one that found Jenny, _that's_ where he'd instinctively take her," Nate explained. "We need to let Eric in on this."

Chuck looked doubtful. It was in everyone's best interest to keep things the way they were, just between him and Nate, but Nate had made a good point. It _would_ look suspicious if he found Jenny too, and Eric _was_ Jenny's best friend . . . he'd do anything for her . . . and to be honest, he'd probably do anything for Chuck considering how much he looked up to and admired his step-brother and appreciated his lack of judgment toward his sexuality. Nate's idea was pretty brilliant actually. Chuck never realized how smart Nate was. Maybe he was _wrong_ . . . maybe it had been a _good_ thing for Nate to hang out with Dan.

"I'll make the call," Chuck said, whipping out his cell phone and scrolling down to Eric's name.

"Hey, Chuck," Eric greeted, his tone cheery.

"Eric, I need you to do something for me and I need to know if you can keep a secret," Chuck said, his tone urgent.

"Hello, Chuck? I only _hid_ the fact that I'm gay since I was like five. What do you need?"

Chuck shook off an involuntary shiver. He wasn't judging Eric, but he had a hard time with the idea of a five year old child knowing he was gay – it just seemed miserable. "Meet me at the clinic I was hospitalized in. Don't tell anyone where you're really going. Lie if you have to . . . and take a cab. I don't want any of the family cars seen here after I've already been released," Chuck ordered gently. "Better yet, walk, and don't be conspicuous."

"Okay . . . but when have I _ever_ been conspicuous, Chuck? I'm the _only_ outed gay guy at St. Jude's and I _never_ make Gossip Girl. What's going on?" Eric asked, intrigued but slightly fearful at Chuck's tone and the way he was barking orders at him.

"There's no time for questions now. I'll answer any you have when you get here," Chuck promised, "and make sure you come in through the private entrance."

"I'm on my way," Eric assured him, hurriedly donning his expensive navy blue, wool Armani winter coat and dashing down the stairs.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Serena asked from her seat on Dan's lap. They were snuggling on the couch in the front room of the family penthouse. She was trying to take his mind off his missing little sister.

"I'm meeting Jonathan," he lied smoothly, "and by the way . . . get a room. We have many."

It took Eric twenty minutes to get to the clinic on foot. When he reached the waiting room Chuck pulled him down the hall and into a private exam room that happened have Nate Archibald perched on the edge of the exam table.

"What is this guys?" Eric addressed them both, surprised to see Nate.

"Before we tell you _anything_," Chuck asserted, as serious and intense as Eric had ever seen him, "you have to _promise_ that this stays between _us_," he motioned to the three of them.

Beginning to grasp the gravity of the situation and eager to know what was going on, Eric whispered, "I _swear_. Nothing shared _in_ this room will ever make it _outside_ this room."

"How good are you at acting?" Nate asked, acknowledging Eric's promise and the genuine tone of his voice.

"Do you really think I would let him in on this if I didn't _know_ he could pull it off?" Chuck exclaimed, insulted.

"Pull _what_ off?" Eric queried, slightly annoyed. He didn't like people talking about him like he wasn't in the room when he was clearly there or within earshot.

"It's Jenny," Nate said, simply.

"Jenny? What does _she_ have to do with this? The last I heard the police wouldn't take her down as a missing person because they suspect she's a runaway," Eric told them, his voice sopping wet with worry over his best friend.

Nate and Chuck knew this bit of information also.

"Eric, Jenny did run away, but she's never been missing," Nate informed him.

"You _know_ where she is, don't you? You've _always_ known, haven't you? _Both_ of you!" Eric accused, looking at his role models incredulously.

"Yes," Chuck answered this time.

"_Well_?" Eric demanded, stomping his foot in a slightly flamboyant way that reminded Chuck of Blair when she didn't get exactly what she wanted. It was the first time either Chuck or Nate had seen Serena's brother do anything even remotely gay – Eric wasn't the flamboyant type and neither was Jonathan, his boyfriend.

"She's here, Eric," Chuck intoned, silently.

"Here? What's she doing _here_? Is she okay?" Eric didn't like the look on Nate's and Chuck's faces.

"She's the one that had surgery, Eric, not me. I was just covering for her," Chuck revealed.

"But I've seen your incisions! I came here everyday to visit you and you always flinched when you moved because of your broken ribs," Eric was confused.

"My incisions are only an inch deep, little bro, and I'm faking the injured ribs," Chuck confessed.

"But _why_? Why did she need _surgery_ and why did you have to _cover_ for her?" Eric questioned, angry and concerned at the same time.

"The morning after the guerilla fashion show that ruined your mom and Bart's honorary ceremony, I bumped into Jenny in a park in Brooklyn," Nate began. "I didn't realize she was hurt at first because I was so preoccupied by her luggage and the fact that she had moved out of the loft. I didn't notice she was bleeding until she told me about a cat fight she got into with Agnes over her designs. Apparently, Agnes is a crazy bitch because she stabbed Jenny three times with a letter opener. I called Chuck because he has his own penthouse to be exiled to when he's 'naughty,' and I know he has a private physician that makes house calls. It seemed like the perfect plan . . . Jenny and I would both have a roof over our heads and she'd get mended without anyone ever knowing, but by the time Chuck got there Jenny had lost so much blood, a simple house call wouldn't do . . . we had to take her somewhere . . ."

"I decided to bring her here because the staff is _very_ easily manipulated by monetary compensation in exchange for their silence. Jenny ran away, so I thought taking her somewhere discreet would be the best way to handle things, but my father is _practically_ part owner because he 'donates' so much money here and pays extra for our _exclusive_ privacy," Chuck continued. "He'd know someone had surgery that day and he'd want to know the details for expense purposes and business, so I had Dr. Crawford cut me up and anesthetize me so my father wouldn't dig into the sordid details and find out about Jenny. I knew he wouldn't report my supposed mugging to the police because he wouldn't want to draw any negative press . . . he'd just pay my medical bills and leave it alone. No investigation . . ."

"Everything was fine at first," Nate took over. "Jenny woke up, she was coherent and she was even talking. She fell asleep in my arms and I fell asleep too. Her surgery had taken forever and I was tired, but I woke up when she started seizing and called for help. She _died_, Eric, just flat-lined, but they were able to bring her back. Once she stabilized, they ran more tests and found a couple of bleeds in her brain that had been too small to show up the first time. They rushed her into surgery, and the neurosurgeon that performed it, Dr. Shepherd, the one from _our_ private practice, decided it would be a good idea to induce a coma so she'd be free and clear to heal. They brought her out of it today . . ."

"But she's not doing as well as Dr. Shepherd would like. I want her transferred to _his_ private practice so he can keep a closer eye on her, but it would seem too suspicious if Nate played the hero role again by being the person who found her when he's the one who supposedly found _me_ . . . which is where _you_ come in," Chuck explained. "Dr. Shepherd's practice has been your haven for private, discreet medical care since you were practically a _baby_. If _you_ were the one that found Jenny, it makes sense that you would take her _there_. All we'd have to do is make sure she's transferred safely to Dr. Shepherd's practice, wait the dozen or so hours the surgery would take, have her anesthetized again and then call her family so they can finally know where she is _without_ knowing about the cat fight with Agnes and that Nate and I have known where she's been all along," Chuck concluded.

"It's been _killing _me keeping it from Dan and Rufus but I didn't know what else to do," Nate confessed, feeling relieved at finally sharing everything with someone who wasn't anti-Dan. "If Rufus found out where Jenny was he would insist on paying her very expensive medical bills instead of letting Chuck take care of it and if he did that he'd never be able to send Dan to Yale if he gets in. I'm in love with Jenny and I'd be lost without her if something went wrong, but Dan has been a really good friend to me and he works so hard . . . he deserves his chance to go Ivy League. This way, Chuck takes care of the cost of the surgery Jenny had _here_ and she's a pro bono case with Dr. Shepherd, so Rufus pays nothing. As long as Rufus doesn't find out about _this_ surgery, the one Chuck covered for her for, and _just_ finds out about the brain injuries, everyone wins. Jenny gets the treatment she needs and Dan still gets his shot at Yale."

Eric raised his eyebrows, wide-eyed at all the information he'd just been given. His best friend had _died_. He stumbled back a few steps until he toppled into one of the plush chairs the clinic was known for, "I need to sit."

"You _are_ sitting, Eric," Chuck told him, slight impatience coloring his voice.

"I think he's in shock," Nate said, fairly certain he was correct and glaring at Chuck for being an ass. If he were Eric at that particular moment, he'd be in shock too.

"I'll do it," Eric said to himself, thinking of a dead Jenny, and then looked at the other two, "I'm in."

"We were hoping you would say that, little bro," Chuck huffed in relief.

"Now we need to work out the specifics," Nate was relieved too, but there was still work to be done. He started to think out loud, "First, where'd you find her? It can't be the same park I 'found' Chuck in and it can't be too public a place because we want things to go smoothly . . . The steps in front of The Met."

"Because _that's_ not too public a place," Chuck argued, sarcasm laid on thick.

"Maybe during the day but it isn't when it's dark," Nate pointed out. "We wait late enough so the steps are empty and there's no one on the sidewalks. Chuck, you go there when it gets dark and when it fits our scene, text message me. I'll bring her there and position her like she's asleep. Did you have to give an excuse as to where you were going before you came here?" Nate asked, turning his attention toward Eric.

Eric nodded, "I told Serena and Dan that I was meeting Jonathan."

"Great!" Nate cried, the pieces falling together. "Hang out with Jonathan until dark, and I hate asking you to do this, but pick a fight with him . . . make him leave and if he won't, make your own dramatic exit. Then you can say you were wandering around aimlessly thinking about the fight and you ended up on the steps of the Met, where you found Jenny unconscious. Then you call Dr. Shepherd's private ambulance, whose crew will already know what the deal is, and take her to his private practice."

"That seems feasible," Eric agreed, noting the genius of the details.

"_Feasible_?! It's fucking _brilliant_!" Chuck roared. "You even have an alibi!"

"We just have to check with the doctors and make sure it's okay to take Jenny out for a little while and tell Jenny what the plan is," Nate concluded. "Chuck, I think you should handle the doctors . . . I'll handle Jenny. Eric, I would call Jonathan now."

Eric left for the private waiting room, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and dialing, "Hey, Jonathan! Want to meet me at The Three Guys Coffee Shop . . ."

Chuck went off to find Dr. Crawford and Dr. Shepherd, while Nate headed toward Jenny's room.

He hated to wake her but in her current state he didn't want her to be confused or scared if she woke up during the execution of their plan.

"Jenny, hun," Nate whispered, taking her hand.

At his touch, she awoke immediately, instinctually, "Nate."

"Dr. Shepherd wants you transferred to his private practice so he can keep an eye on you, but things are complicated. We need to put you to sleep again and take you out of the hospital for just a little while, but I won't let anything happen to you and when you wake up you'll be safe with Dr. Shepherd, okay?"

"Kay," she answered. She would do anything Nate wanted of her.

~*~

Chuck had managed to get the doctors in the same room together. He explained their plan and why it was necessary, and asked if Jenny was medically sound enough for a short trip out of the hospital.

"We'd want you to put her under again, but I'm not sure if that's something that might affect her current condition negatively," Chuck finished.

"It shouldn't," both doctors agreed, neither really liking the plan, but understanding their patients' need for privacy even if it included complicated lies and convoluted schemes. It also tugged at their heart strings knowing that Jenny's father would never be able to pay for her medical care if he found out the truth, leaving the place they lived in, their source of income and her older brother's shot at an Ivy League school in jeopardy. The Humphreys sounded like a nice family and Dr. Shepherd hadn't exactly been Upper East Side material when he was Jenny's age. He'd had to pay off student loans just like most college kids did when they were finished with school. Plus, he and Dr. Crawford had taken an oath to protect patient confidentiality, and if Jenny agreed to the plan, they were bound by law to keep it to themselves as long as she ended up safely at the other practice.

"We just need to make sure Miss Bass is okay with this first," Dr. Shepherd told Chuck. "If she is, we'll put her under and send her out with Nate when the time is right, and I'll be in the ambulance myself when it comes to pick her up."

Both doctors and Chuck made their way to Jenny's room. She was awake and her attention was riveted on Nate.

"J? Do you remember me?" Dr. Shepherd asked.

"U-huh," Jenny managed, recognizing the handsome doctor's face.

"Did Nate explain what they'd like to do to get you to my practice?"

"Y-yes," she said.

"Are you okay with their plan?"

Jenny looked at Nate, who smiled encouragingly, and then back to Dr. Shepherd, "Y-yes."

"Okay, we promise we'll take good care of you," Dr. Shepherd told her.

"Kay," she said, sleepily. She stole one last look at Nate before her eyes slid shut and she fell back to sleep.

~*~

Eric and Jonathan had met at The Three Guys Coffee Shop and decided to have lunch at Jackson Hole. Eric was very quiet and distracted throughout the whole meal, only picking at his food, and was constantly pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to text message Chuck for updates on the plan and Jenny's condition. He didn't notice Jonathan's annoyance at his lack of public displays of affection . . . his fingers were too busy typing for them to hold hands, they didn't sit so close together that they could steal a random kiss or put a hand on the other's knee, all things they usually did when they were together. Eric wasn't even really paying attention to Jonathan. He had to ask his boyfriend to repeat parts of conversations many times because he was so caught up in his worry over Jenny and making sure he played his part to pure excellence.

After lunch, they agreed to spend the rest of the afternoon catching matinees at their favorite movie theater on the Upper West Side. It was actually Jonathan's idea, Eric just nodded his approval. The movie theater was an old, forties sort of place that had an artsy, old fashioned feel to it which were the reasons why they loved it so much. On Saturdays it played old John Wayne movies and both boys loved the Duke. They watched "The Quiet Man" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," and didn't even hold hands, another normal thing they usually did when they went to the movies, much to Jonathan's chagrin because Eric continued his relentless text messaging with Chuck the same as at lunch. The answering texts always dinging their arrival during the two movies had really gotten on Jonathan's nerves as they watched John Wayne play a prize fighter and an old western, double gun-wielding badass duel extraordinaire. Many people shared Jonathan's annoyance and whispered at him to shut his phone off but Eric didn't care, his mind was too full to bother with other people's opinions. He had to keep focus or he thought he might lose it, just breakdown in the middle of the scene where John Wayne shoots Liberty Valance but makes it look like Jimmy Stewart's character did it, thereby losing the girl he loved and not getting to bask in the glory of his accomplishment in favor of the bigger picture. Jonathan would never know that the tears were for the girl _he_ loved. He would assume they were for the Duke's sacrifice of his own happiness, but Eric managed to hold it together.

When they left the movie theater, dusk was rapidly turning to darkness and it was very cold outside. Eric buttoned up his navy blue, wool Armani winter coat and finally took Jonathan's hand in his, though the gesture was more out of his desire for warm hands than to display affection. He'd forgotten his warm calf-skin leather gloves at home in his haste to meet up with Chuck.

"You want to grab hot chocolate or coffee or something?" Eric asked, the first time he'd asked a question the entire time they'd spent together since asking Jonathan if he'd wanted to hang out in the first place. It was less a romantic idea and more a practical one – Jonathan could only keep one of his hands warm. Jonathan, however, mistook the practicality for an actual attempt at romance to make up for his lack of mental and emotional presence during their date.

They made their way back to the Upper East Side, which took them forever because Eric insisted on walking since it wasn't nearly late enough for the steps in front of The Met to be clear, and returned to The Three Guys Coffee Shop. Jonathan ordered what they both usually ordered, a white chocolate mocha with four pumps of cinnamon syrup, while Eric simply ordered the largest cup of hot chocolate the place had to offer with extra whipped cream. He didn't want to order coffee because his nerves were bad enough and caffeine would only serve to frazzle them even more. He hoped the sugar high from the hot chocolate would be enough to keep him on his game. Since Jonathan had paid for the movies, Eric footed the coffee bill.

Once they had their drinks, they made their way to their favorite table toward the back where they could have some privacy. It was what kept them _off_ Gossip Girl. Jonathan scooted his chair extra close to Eric's and put his hand on Eric's knee, but his cell phone went off again – another message from Chuck.

"Can't you turn that off for a little while?" Jonathan asked, trying not to sound annoyed now that his boyfriend was starting to show an interest in him.

"No," Eric replied immediately, his tone harsh. It was 9:03 P.M. "It's important."

"More important than me?" Jonathan questioned, quietly.

"Right now, yes," Eric didn't hesitate with his response.

Jonathan took his hand off Eric's knee and was tempted to scoot his chair away, but chose not to in the end; instead he forced Eric to look at him.

"What is your _deal_ today? First, you invite me out and seem all happy to see me when we met here earlier but you've been rude and have ignored me all day and I'm _tired_ of it," Jonathan bristled as Eric's cell phone dinged again, "and I _swear_ if you pick up that _phone_ before you answer me . . ."

"It's about Jenny," Eric answered, honestly. He looked at the text message – everything was still a go.

"Would you put that _away_?!" Jonathan was getting angry, but Eric didn't care.

"No," Eric told him, flatly.

"Why not?!" Jonathan demanded.

"Because they're contacts, Jonathan. People that may have heard from or seen Jenny since she went missing," he explained, curtly.

"She's not _missing_, Eric," Jonathan spat angrily, "she _ran away_. She's choosing not to call you on _purpose_. She doesn't _want_ to be found."

"She may have run away but that doesn't mean she's _not_ missing," Eric spat back, just as angrily. "She has _good_ reasons for not wanting to be found and it's kind of hard to charge a cell phone when you don't have electricity."

"She knows where you live and she knows both your sister's and her brother's schedules like the back of her _hand_. If she wanted you to know she was okay, she would have _found_ some way to contact you, and anyway, _she's_ not here right now . . . _I_ am and last I checked I'm your boyfriend and I _deserve_ to have you pay attention to _me_!"

"You don't _get_ it, do you?" Eric said softly, tears springing to his eyes, "Jenny might be badass enough to pull off a guerilla fashion show at an exclusive Upper East Side event, but she's not as tough as you think. She can't survive on the streets Jonathan, she'd be ripped to shreds . . . and she's my best friend whom I _love_ dearly and who has _always _been there for me from the moment we met. She could be _dead_! Dead in a ditch somewhere in Brooklyn or the Bronx and no one would ever even _know_!"

The tears he'd been fighting all day finally cascaded down his cheeks, a picture of Jenny dead stuck in his mind's eye. She had died and he hadn't been there for her. He couldn't get the sound of the heart monitoring machine bleeping at one constant shrill note, proclaiming to the world that she had been _gone_, even if it was only for a minute.

Jonathan put his hand on Eric's thigh to comfort him, but it didn't help. He put his other arm around Eric's shoulders and used that hand to turn Eric's face toward him, giving him a passionate kiss as the tears continued to slide down his boyfriend's cheeks. After a minute, Eric pulled away and shoved Jonathan off of him, giving him a look of disgust that was not fake. It was turning out that Eric didn't have to fake a fight with his boyfriend after all . . . one was happening for real.

"What are you_ doing_?" Eric demanded, livid. He pushed Jonathan's hand off of his thigh and forced his chair away so that he was a good two feet from him.

Jonathan was confused, "I was just _trying_ to make you feel better!"

"Well _don't_!" Eric cautioned him. "If you think that sticking your _tongue_ down my throat and _assaulting_ my leg is going to _comfort_ me, you _obviously_ don't know me very well!"

"I guess I don't," Jonathan agreed, his voice just as livid as Eric's. He wrenched himself out of his chair and stomped out of the coffee shop without looking back.

Kati, Isabel and Penelope happened to be sitting at a table nearby and had witnessed the entire argument. Penelope had snapped a shot of Jonathan's hasty exit and typed up an email to Gossip Girl.

Eric picked up his cell phone, angry tears still flowing, and texted "Fight successful" to Chuck and Nate and slipped it into his pocket. He downed his hot chocolate, scalding his throat, and went to the sales counter to order another one. While he was waiting, his phone dinged and he pulled it out of his pocket, expecting a text from Chuck or Nate. Instead he found himself looking at a picture of his fight with Jonathan on Gossip Girl.

"Good evening Upper East Siders! Whoever wrote the Christmas carol "Let it Snow" and decided to include the lyric "The weather outside is frightful but inside is so delightful," has it all wrong, at least tonight anyway.

**Sightings**

**E** and **J** fighting at **The Three Guys Coffee Shop** – the subject, Little **J**. Apparently, **E** mentioned the _**L**_ _**word **_when referring to our missing designer fashionista. Is there _finally_ trouble in paradise? Is **E** admitting he's bi? Even though they're gay their relationship is _annoyingly_ perfect. It's about time they started acting like a normal couple! As far as I'm concerned their argument was a waste of oxygen seeing a Little **J** is _still_ nowhere to be seen! Maybe **D** and his dad **R** should start checking morgues . . . Even **I** would shed a tear at her untimely demise because **I** was one of those missed 32 calls on Little **J's** cell phone after her stunt at the Philanthropic Soiree honoring **C's** dad and **S's** mom, who, according to my sources, is having an affair with **D** and Little **J's** dad **R**, which really makes **D** and **S's** relationship kind of gross. However, it doesn't change the fact that Little **J's** designs are to die for. Here's hoping the talented little minx will show her bleached blonde head soon so I can finally order all her unique couture must-haves. Until next time Upper East Siders . . .

You know you love me,

Gossip Girl"

His phone dinged again and this time the message _was_ from Chuck. It read "Nice, now UR alibi is solid!"

Finally, his order was up. He grabbed the enormous cup with both hands and commenced with his aimless wandering. It was 10:00 P.M. now, which meant Chuck was stationed outside the steps of the Met.

~*~

Chuck was wearing baggy, destroyed jeans and an overlarge navy blue sweatshirt with a hood that happened to be up in order to hide his face. He'd chosen the blue sweatshirt over the black – He was Chuck Bass after all, he had to have a _little_ color. He stood to the west of the stairs in front of The Met behind a large pillar, out of the view of their security cameras. He had brought three Cubans to smoke as he assessed the backdrop for the little scene they were planning. Chuck Bass did not smoke cigarettes, he'd refused to bring anything but the cigars since he'd already relented to the humiliation of wearing "hooligan's clothing," as he'd put it, but the plan wasn't about him so he'd sucked it up. Nate had been impressed with his willingness to cooperate and had made some comment about Blair being good for him again. He was really going to have to do something about her, but the only things he could think of involved sexy lingerie and lots of candles.

He people watched until he was sick with it, which was only after about five minutes of standing there. He focused on smoking the cigars for the first hour and a half or so. Around 11:30 most of the people occupying the steps started to leave, most likely heading off to glamorous parties that one only arrived to at midnight or later. Half an hour later there were just a couple of passed out, drunk homeless people on the steps. He waited an extra fifteen minutes because a few people were still walking the sidewalk.

He pulled out his phone and texted Nate and Eric, "All CLR."

~*~

At midnight Nurse Westwick helped Jenny into the clothes she'd arrived in and injected a dose of tranquilizers into her I.V. before removing the needle and tubing from her hand and all the pertinent bandages. Jenny had practiced walking when she'd woken and found herself clumsy on her own two feet. She wasn't normally a klutz, but Nurse Westwick assured her that it was from lack of use of her legs and the meds she was on. It wasn't _totally_ comforting, but it was better than nothing.

Nate stuck his head in after being assured that Jenny was decent, "It's time."

He walked up to her, scooped her up off the ground, which made her supremely dizzy, and carried her out the private entrance to the car he'd rented for the occasion. He positioned her in the passenger seat and climbed in the driver's seat, starting the engine. It would take them less than five minutes to get to The Met from there, but he'd have to find somewhere to park that was inconspicuous. Like Chuck, he was wearing baggy, destroyed jeans and an overlarge sweatshirt that was black instead of navy blue, with the hood pulled over his head.

Nate parked to the west of the stairs but far enough away so that The Met's security cameras wouldn't see the car, and got out of the driver's side hastily. He pulled open the passenger door and collected Jenny in his arms, setting her gently to her feet. She was way out of it from the tranquilizers, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and helped her walk to where Chuck was standing.

"Still all clear?" Nate asked, whispering.

"Yeah," Chuck informed him, surprised to see Jenny on her feet, and handing Nate a Cuban, which Nate immediately deposited in the front pocket of his sweatshirt.

Nate took Jenny's face in his hands, "Jenny, hun?"

Her eyes opened, slit like, at the sound of his voice, "Nate," she slurred.

"Can you walk on your own?" He asked, tentatively removing his arm from around her shoulders. She swayed, but didn't fall, taking a step forward and then another. She looked really disoriented and completely trashed, but she was still standing.

"Y-yes," she answered, closing her eyes for a second.

"Do you know where we are?" Nate queried.

"N-no," she answered obediently.

"Here's what I want you to do, hun . . . I want you to walk as best you can around this pillar," he pointed to the pillar to make sure she understood, "until you reach the stairs on the other side. I'll be walking behind you just in case you fall, but it won't look like we're together. Once you get to the stairs, lie down on them, okay? Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," she answered again.

Slowly but surely Jenny stumbled forward, wobbling this way and that, and made her way around the pillar to the stairs, Nate walking casually behind her. She made it about halfway across the length of the first step and managed to climb up three stairs before she half-lowered, half-fell to the ground. Luckily her head didn't bang into the concrete.

Nate kept walking until he reached the same pillar on the east side of the stairs as the one Chuck stood behind on the west side. He pulled out his cell phone and text messaged Eric, "J's in place."

Until Eric showed up, Chuck and Nate were going to stand guard, smoking their cigars, in case someone decided to bother Jenny. They would stay in place until Jenny was safely latched into the ambulance and then head home, where they would wait for Eric's call the next day.

"On my way, be there in 10," Eric texted Nate and Chuck.

Ten minutes seemed like ten hours to Nate, but Eric was concise about arriving on time – getting there not even a second late. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat as he walked toward the stairs from the east. He gave a terse nod when he passed by Nate's pillar, not bothering to take in the smoking figure he knew was Nate, keeping his eyes forward and downcast, and looking genuinely upset.

Nate peeked out from his hiding place and watched as Eric took a seat on the second step. Eric hung his head in his hands for a couple minutes, really playing the part of the distressed aimless wanderer in need of a break from walking. He looked worn down and ruffled. Raising his head out of his hands he looked toward Nate first, then swiveled his head toward Chuck's hiding place and pretended surprise when he saw Jenny lying there, only a few feet away.

Eric took his time standing up and walked slowly toward her unmoving body at first. When a streetlamp shone a streak of light on her face, recognition lit up his, and he rushed forward, dropping to his knees in front of her. Nate was really impressed with Eric's performance so far, and was extremely glad he and Chuck had let him in on their plan.

Eric didn't have to fake his surprise and worry once he got a good look at her, "Jenny?"

His tone was alarmed. She was so pale and sickly looking and her chest was barely moving up and down as she breathed. Eric gently prodded her so she lay on her back instead of her side, getting a full view of her face in the light of the streetlamp.

"Oh God, Jenny," Eric sounded panicked. "Jenny, wake up!"

Eric nudged her softly back onto her side but she was out cold and didn't respond. He studied her for a moment and fished his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing Dr. Shepherd directly. He still had to put on a show though, so he shrieked into the phone, "Help! My friend needs an ambulance! She's barely breathing . . . Oh God, she's starting to _seize_!"

Dr. Shepherd was already in the ambulance when he received Eric's panicked phone call. Though he wasn't one of his patients, Dr, Shepherd knew Eric well enough to know that the last statement he'd made wasn't an act.

"Get moving!" He shouted at his plastic surgeon, who was manning the wheel of the ambulance.

Jenny started to have a seizure, her whole body convulsing violently. Eric wasn't quick enough to get her head in his lap and the same side that had been initially injured cracked on the cement once before he could get her underneath him. She started foaming at the mouth so he kept her head turned to the side so she wouldn't choke, but that didn't stop her from losing control of her bladder. It only lasted about 45 seconds, but her chest wasn't moving.

Two minutes after Eric's call, the ambulance roared up in front of The Met. Dr. Shepherd and his wife pulled a stretcher out of the back and grabbed Jenny under her arms and knees to get her onto it.

"She's not breathing," Eric whimpered, scrambling after the two doctors and climbing in the ambulance after them just as it was racing away. He watched in horror as they stuck a scary looking metal instrument into her mouth and forced a tube down her throat, attaching a hand-held air-compressor and breathing for her.

"I couldn't get to her in time," Eric cried, "she hit her head on the steps!"

"What part, Eric?" Dr. Shepherd demanded.

"The right side," Eric squeaked. He looked down at his hands and saw blood on them. Jenny's blood.

"I'm not hearing equal breath sounds . . . Edward, get it together," Dr. Tamara Shepherd yelled at her husband, "or we're going to lose her!"

For the second time in two weeks, Jenny Humphrey died, but this time her best friend was there to hold her hand. Luckily for her it took only two minutes for the three doctors to get her into their small E.R. and bring her back. CT and MRI scans were done, and her brain was bleeding in the same spots Dr. Shepherd had initially repaired in the first brain surgery he'd performed. Dr. Shepherd was going to have to perform a second one.

Eric was inconsolable and Dr. Shepherd took a moment to comfort the scared teenager, "The seizure isn't something any of us could have prevented, Eric. If she didn't hit her head on those stairs it would've been on something else. She was up and walking at the other clinic before she left. If she'd fallen from a standing position and hit her head there, she'd be in much worse condition. Don't blame yourself, and tell your friends not to blame themselves either. The plan may not have gone off without a hitch, but it was still successful and I'm going to do everything I can to fix Jenny."

Eric nodded because it was the only thing he could do, then pulled out his cell phone and called Chuck.

"What happened?" Chuck demanded, worried sick.

"She had a seizure and hit her head on the steps. There's more bleeding in her brain," Eric responded, his voice shaking. "She's going into surgery right now. Dr. Shepherd said that nothing could have been done to prevent what happened and that she could be in much worse condition and that it isn't our fault."

Chuck let out a heavy breath, trying to focus, "Stick to the plan, Eric. Don't call anyone until after the surgery is over."

"Okay," Eric whispered, the tears evident in his voice.

~*~

Chuck came out from behind the pillar and hurried in Nate's direction.

"She had a seizure and hit her head on the steps. She's in surgery now," he told Nate.

"Shit!" Nate cursed. "What were we thinking taking her out of the hospital like that?!"

"I told Eric to stick to the plan. Dr. Shepherd told him that the seizure couldn't have been prevented and that what happened isn't our fault," Chuck repeated Eric's words and pushed out another heavy breath.

"This can't be happening," Nate whimpered, seeming to be having a panic attack. He was shaking uncontrollably and was swaying on his feet. Before Chuck had a chance to grab hold of him, he passed out and fell to the ground, cracking his own head on the pavement.

Chuck forced Nate's mouth open and pulled out the flask he carried with him everywhere he went, pouring a small amount of single-malt aged scotch down his throat. Nate came to, sputtering and pushing himself into a sitting position. He was disoriented, which meant he could have a concussion. Fortunately, this time, the situation could wait for a house call so Chuck hailed a cab, making Nate engage in conversation, and started to get them home. He dialed Dr. Crawford's number on the way and arranged to have him meet them at Chuck's penthouse.

~*~

"A mild concussion," Dr. Crawford concluded after examining Nate and stitching up the back of his head. "Keep him awake for twelve hours, and then give him these," he handed Chuck two bottles: one was filled with pain-killers, the other with anti-inflammatories. "I'll come by to remove the stitches in a week," Dr. Crawford promised. "I heard what happened to Miss Bass. It isn't your fault."

Nate and Chuck looked doubtful when he said it, "Mr. Bass, when have I ever _not_ been straight with you. I'm a medical doctor who was filled in by another medical doctor of the circumstances. _It isn't your fault_!"

"I'm going to choose to believe you because I don't think I could live with myself if I don't," Chuck confessed, handing over another fat envelope filled with cash to the doctor.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episode "There Might Be Blood" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Rufus/Lily/Bart, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia (he and Willow never cheated, they never broke up, she and Angel never had a thing, and she didn't die – sorry but I hated Anya and Xander together and I can't see him with Vanessa. Also, he doesn't lose his eye – I like my Xander whole.)

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she and Eric are juniors at Constance Billiard and St. Jude's when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl. I know in the series Chuck only has a personal suite, but a personal penthouse just works out better for the storyline. Also, Chuck actually raped Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party, but nobody knows, not even Chuck himself. And yeah, I'm borrowing some names and job titles from Grey's Anatomy, but they aren't the actual Grey's characters, so technically I'm not stealing anything that is owned by anyone else. They may have the same jobs as their namesakes but they are still my creations.

Rating: K+ for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 8 – The Reunion

Dr. Shepherd came out of the operating room twelve hours later and approached Eric, "I would make those phone calls now if I were you. Jenny's recovering in the I.C.U."

Eric nodded and pulled out his cell phone, which was almost dead. It was a little after noon on Sunday, and it seemed strange to think that around this time the day before he was hanging out with Jonathan and watching John Wayne movies. He scrolled down to Serena's number and hit dial.

"Hey Eric," Serena greeted, relieved to hear from her little brother. She, like every other teenager in the city, had seen the post of his fight with Jonathan on Gossip Girl the night before, "I've been worried sick about you. I saw what happened with you and Jonathan. Are you okay?"

"No," Eric answered, tonelessly, "_no_, I'm really not. Are you with Dan?"

"Yeah," Serena confirmed, wondering why he would ask about Dan. "Why?"

"Can you put him on the phone please?" Eric sounded exhausted, and his voice was still toneless, like he was numb, which was an accurate assumption.

"Okay," Serena promised, a strange look on her face. "Eric wants to talk to you," she whispered to Dan.

"Why?" Dan asked, he liked Eric but they weren't close or anything.

"He didn't say," she whispered again, handing over her cell phone.

"Hey Eric! It's Dan . . . what's up?" Dan greeted, curiously.

Eric paused for a moment, and swallowed hard, hard enough that Dan could hear it on the other end of the line, "I found Jenny . . . last night . . . it's why I didn't come home."

"What?!" Dan jumped to his feet, his body humming mysteriously at Eric's words. "Where? How? Are you _serious_?"

"My phone's about to die," Eric responded, not answering any of Dan's questions. "Tell Serena she's at Dr. Shepherd's. She'll know where to take you," and without another word, Eric hung up.

"What's going on?" Serena queried, observing Dan's erratic behavior.

"Your brother found my sister," Dan exclaimed, agitated. "He told me to tell you that she's at Dr. Shepherd's. He said you'd know where to take me."

"Oh my God!" Serena wailed, partly happy that Jenny had been found and partly worried sick at where she was.

"Who's Dr. Shepherd?" Dan demanded, still agitated.

"There're two Dr. Shepherds. They run the private practice that Eric and I go to whenever we're sick," Serena explained, her worry increasing exponentially. "One Dr. Shepherd, the wife, is a pediatrician and world-renowned neo-natal surgeon. The other Dr. Shepherd, the husband, is a world-renowned neurosurgeon. We have to get there _fast_!"

"Let me call my dad first," Dan assuaged her, her mounting fear making him more and more agitated. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed home.

"Hey Dan," Rufus greeted his son, glad that he had a distraction in Serena since Jenny had run away. He was sharing an omelette with Lily Bass at the moment. They'd gone out the night before to see one of their favorite old bands play and had gotten so drunk they'd had to call a cab to get home instead of walking for fear of getting cited for being drunk in public. Lily had taken Rufus' bed out of his insistence and he had crashed on the couch. Bart was away on business and she was terribly lonely, and the only person she could think of who she wanted to spend time with was Rufus because she was still in love with him.

"Dad," Dan paused, confused, hearing Lily in the background, "is that Lily Bass I hear?"

Rufus didn't answer for a little while, struggling whether or not to tell his son the truth, his righteous side winning out, "Yes. We hung out last night and got really drunk. She crashed on my bed and I slept on the couch . . . nothing happened."

"I don't care about that," Dan informed him, even more agitated. "Eric found Jenny."

Rufus' voice exploded into the mouth piece of the phone, "What? _Where_? Where is she _now_?"

"She's at a private medical facility on Park Ave and West 57th," Dan told him. "Lily knows where it is . . . mention Dr. Shepherd and get her to take you there. I'm on my way with Serena," Dan said, hanging up.

~*~

Chuck had done right by Nate and kept him awake all night, not that either of them could have slept if they'd wanted to. He handed over the bottles of pills to Nate. His cell phone buzzed – he had a new text message. It was from Eric, reading "Dan knows."

"Eric made the call to Serena," he told Nate, who was nursing a pretty nasty headache and was thankful for the pain killers. "Dan knows. I have to go to the family penthouse and intercede them before they leave for Dr. Shepherd's. I promise to call you as soon as I can."

Nate nodded and plunked back down on the bed, hating that he had to stay behind.

~*~

Dan and Serena changed into everyday clothes since they'd been in their pajamas when Eric had called and were rushing out of Serena's room and down the stairs as Chuck entered the front door.

"Where are you guys going in such a hurry?" Chuck asked, his voice smooth as always.

"What do _you_ care?" Dan asked, pointedly. Chuck had never taken an interest in what he and Serena did before, so why start _now_?

"I'm staying in with Blair today," Chuck explained, ignoring Dan and turning his attention to Serena. "I thought maybe you'd tell me where you're going so I could let Lily know when she gets home, especially since Eric didn't come home last night after that Gossip Girl blast. I wouldn't want her to worry over both her children. _Especially_ since she's been so kind to me."

"Eric didn't come home last night because he found Jenny," Serena stated quickly, trying to get her and Dan out the door as soon as possible.

Chuck feigned surprise, "_Really_? _Where_?"

"That's _none_ of your business," Dan bellowed, angry that Chuck Bass, of all people, was holding them up.

"I'm coming with you," Chuck asserted boldly.

"_Why_?" Serena demanded, not in the mood for her step-brother's antics.

"Because I _care_ . . . I'm not a _complete_ monster," Chuck defended, pretending to be insulted.

"Whatever . . . come if you want," Dan said, suddenly not caring if Chuck came along. All he wanted was to see his baby sister even if that meant spending time with Chuck Bass.

Serena was surprised that Dan had basically invited Chuck to come, but, taking one look at his face, she realized that he didn't care who was there as long as he got to see Jenny.

"The limo is waiting downstairs," Chuck offered, generously. "All we have to do is give the driver an address."

"Fine," Dan said, distractedly, making his way toward the door in a determined way. Serena and Chuck hurried after him, trying hard to keep pace with the worry-riddled Dan.

It took them three minutes to get from the family penthouse to the lobby, Dan muttering curses under his breath the whole way down at how long it was taking. When the elevator doors finally opened, Dan practically ran across the marble floor of the lobby and out the door to the familiar limousine, not waiting for Serena or Chuck. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the top of the fancy stretch automobile as he waited for the two to catch up. Chuck opened the unlocked door and ushered Serena and Dan in, then motioned for Serena to give the address to the driver.

"31 Park Avenue and West 57th street," Serena called out, "The Shepherd-Sloane Private Practice."

The limo took off toward the address Serena had given immediately.

Chuck pulled out his cell phone and text messaged Nate and Eric, "On my way." Then he dialed Blair.

"Hey baby," Blair greeted warmly. "I'm just getting ready to come over so I can get my final surprise from my treasure hunt yesterday."

"Plans have changed, babe," Chuck uttered, apologetically.

"What?" Blair challenged, not trying to hide her disappointment and anger. "_Why_?"

"Eric found Jenny," Chuck snapped, the first time he'd been impatient with her fondness for presents, "and she's in the hospital."

"Oh my God," Blair said, gloomily, worried about her friend. She and Jenny had mended fences last year and she was closer to _her_ than she'd _ever_ be to Isabel, Kati, Penelope or Nelly Yuki. She actually considered Jenny a _friend_, not a _follower_. "_Where_?"

"A private medical facility on Park and West 57th," Chuck repeated the address Serena had given the driver even though he already knew the address without Serena's help and also that Blair was a patient there whenever she needed medical attention.

"Dr. Shepherd's?" Blair queried, surprised.

"Yeah," Chuck confirmed.

"I'll meet you there," Blair informed him, hanging up the phone.

"Blair's coming," Chuck told Dan and Serena. "She's worried about Jenny. I could _hear_ it in her voice."

"We're _all_ worried about Jenny," Serena snapped, nastily. At least Blair would be there to keep Chuck busy. The surprising thing about Blair was that she was very motherly and caring when it came to situations like the one at hand. Serena was glad that her best friend would be there.

~*~

Dan, Serena, and Chuck were the first to arrive at Dr. Shepherd's. The building was seven stories tall, relatively short in comparison to the surrounding ones. The first level was an expansive lobby with even nicer plush chairs than Dr. Crawford's clinic. It was decorated in shades of blue to create a calming effect on its occupants. The slender brunette receptionist looked at the three of them keenly, waiting for one of them to come up and explain their presence in the building. Dan ambled up to the counter, wringing his hands.

"I'm Daniel Humphrey," he introduced himself. "My sister, Jennifer, is supposed to be here somewhere. Eric van der Woodsen called and told me so," he finished, knowing he sounded rather lame.

"You're the brother of that _poor_ girl?" The receptionist asked, a pitying look on her face.

Dan didn't like the tone of the receptionist _or_ the look on her face . . . she made it sound like Jenny was on her deathbed and, for all _he_ knew, she _was_.

"My dad is on his way," Dan added, almost forgetting about his father.

"Take the elevator up to level seven," the receptionist instructed. "There's a small waiting room there for the families of I.C.U. patients. That's where young Mr. van der Woodsen _should_ be. We actually _need_ you to positively identify her as your sister. Her face was _badly_ mangled and young Mr. van der Woodsen was in _quite_ a state . . . needless to say we can't count on his identification because of it and he's also not family."

Dan stood there, frozen, paling, face in utter shock. Rufus and Lily arrived just at that moment, Blair a minute after.

Rufus hurried to Dan's side, alarmed at the look on his son's face. He shook him slightly, which seemed to restart Dan, who looked his father in the eyes, "We have to take the elevator to the seventh floor . . . that's where the waiting room is for I.C.U. patients," he said hollowly.

Rufus identified himself as Jenny's father to the receptionist, who picked up the phone and notified the male Dr. Shepherd that Jenny's family was there. Then Rufus took the shell-shocked Dan's forearm firmly in his and led him to the elevator, pushing the up button until it finally lit up to announce the elevator's arrival. Chuck, Blair, Serena, Lily, Dan and Rufus filed inside, Serena pushing the #7 button. Unlike the other elevator ride, Dan remained completely silent for the first three floors.

"We have to _identify_ her," Dan said to no one in particular, his tone still hollow. "Eric was too upset to give a positive I.D. and they prefer for _family members _to I.D. John and Jane Doe cases anyway."

Rufus tightened his grip on Dan's forearm, trying not to break down. He had to be strong for Jenny and Dan. He couldn't lose it yet . . . he would have to wait until he was alone. He felt Lily's hand on his shoulder and was mildly comforted and thankful to have the woman he was secretly in love with there with him when he found out what was wrong with his baby girl.

The elevator opened to the seventh floor. There was a wide marble hallway that led in one direction. The black marble placard on the wall indicated that the waiting room was to the right and that only authorized persons were allowed to the left.

The group veered to the right, and pushed their way into the baby blue decorated medium-sized waiting room. Eric was sitting alone in one of the plush chairs, tears pouring down his cheeks when he glanced up at everyone, clearly sure that Dr. Shepherd had come back to give him more bad news on Jenny's condition. Lily and Serena went to him immediately, enveloping him in a three way hug as he sobbed for his best friend.

After several minutes, they finally let him go and he brushed his tears hastily away. He caught Chuck's eye, and raised his head slightly in acknowledgement of the continuation of the plan.

"Eric," Rufus approached the young man gently, "what _happened_?"

Eric sucked in a tremulous breath and steeled himself to tell the story, "I had a date with Jonathan yesterday," he began, "but we got into an enormous fight and he left . . . I was so angry I just kept walking and walking and not paying attention to where I was going until I realized how late it was . . . I was standing in front of The Met a little after midnight, but I wasn't ready to go home because Gossip Girl got a tip about my fight with Jonathan and broadcasted it to _everyone_. I didn't want to deal with Serena so I sat down for a little while, but it started to get so cold I couldn't avoid going home anymore . . . so I got up and noticed someone lying there on the stairs . . . there were a couple drunk homeless people sleeping on them higher up but this one looked strange . . . the body was positioned funny . . . so I decided to take a look," Eric continued. "When I got closer, a streetlamp shined on the person's face . . . and it was _Jenny_ . . . and she wasn't breathing . . . so I called Dr. Shepherd's private ambulance and got her here . . . but her face was all bruised and swollen so I couldn't identify her for sure . . . they ran some tests and rushed her into surgery . . . they wouldn't tell me _anything_ else and I was too upset to make any phone calls until Dr. Shepherd told me she was recovering in the I.C.U. . . . _that's_ when I called Serena."

Eric's shoulders slumped and he took in another tremulous breath, "I thought I was going to go crazy waiting all by myself, but I couldn't get my voice to work. The other Dr. Shepherd checked in on me from time to time . . . she gave me something for anxiety which helped a lot, but I was still crying and my voice still wouldn't work . . . I'm so sorry I didn't call you sooner," he looked down at his hands, still covered in blood. "This is her blood."

"That doesn't matter now, Eric," Rufus comforted the distraught sixteen year-old. "All that matters is that you _found_ her and you _did_ call when you were able."

Dr. Shepherd entered as Rufus was patting Eric on the back, "Mr. Humphrey?"

Rufus gave the boy another pat on the shoulder before spinning around and facing the doctor, "Dr. Shepherd?"

The handsome man in the lab coat nodded, "I need you to make a positive I.D. of your daughter before I can tell you anything about her condition."

Rufus nodded and pulled Dan to his side, ready to follow the doctor to Jenny.

They exited the waiting room and headed straight down the hall, passing the black marble placard that inhibited unauthorized persons and led them to left side of the floor to the I.C.U. room Jenny currently inhabited. Half the walls were like any other but blue, the other two were glass for observational purposes, with a sliding door that allowed the staff entrance. Dr. Shepherd punched in the code that opened the door and walked briskly into the room, Dan and Rufus on his heels.

Dr. Shepherd stood on the left side of Jenny's bed, motioning the father and son to join him since the top of her head and right side of her face were covered in thick white bandages. They had had to completely shave her head before he could perform the surgery he'd finished only an hour ago. There were minor bruises on the left side of her face because she'd had another seizure during the MRI and banged her head against the cage that was supposed to keep her head still. They'd pushed 25 mg of Phenobarbital into her I.V. and gotten the seizure under control almost instantly so they could get accurate test results.

Rufus knew Jenny's face instantly, but Dan had chosen to stay on the right side of her bed, picking up her right hand and focusing on a scar there.

"Dad," Dan held up Jenny's hand and pointed to the scar, his voice thick with unshed tears. "From when she was 7 and mom wouldn't show her how to use the sewing machine because she had to go to work, and she tried to teach herself and got her hand caught in the machine. We spent _hours_ in the emergency room remember?"

Rufus nodded his confirmation of the scar, and looked to his precious daughter's bruised face.

"It's definitely her," Rufus informed the doctor, his voice unsteady. "It's definitely our Jenny."

Dr. Shepherd nodded and left the room, waiting expectantly for Dan and Rufus to follow him. They ended up in the waiting room again at the corner furthest from Chuck, Blair, Lily, Serena, and Eric.

"Your daughter appears to have been hit over the head several times with a heavy, blunt object. The blows were to the right and front parts of her head, causing serious bleeds in the frontal and temporal lobes of her brain. They also caused her brain to swell. I had to remove part of her skull to relieve the pressure on her injured brain. I was able to stop the bleeding, but not before the blood spread, causing necrosis of some of her brain matter in the frontal and temporal lobes. I had to remove the necrotic tissue to make sure the damage didn't spread any further. Her right zygomatic bone is completely crushed, but my plastic surgeon can't do anything about that until she heals significantly. A full body MRI revealed two broken ribs and three bruised ones," Dr. Shepherd concluded, his assumption that the Humphreys were a nice family confirmed by the looks on their faces at his assessment of Jenny's condition.

"What kind of damage are we talking about, doctor? To her brain?" Rufus inquired, feeling nauseous.

"I honestly can't tell you what kind of damage to expect, Mr. Humphrey," Dr. Shepherd stated, truthfully. "The frontal and temporal lobes are important in so many ways, it's impossible to tell what has been affected until she wakes up. The surgery was successful, so be happy for that. I've had patients _die_ on my table with lesser wounds than your daughter. Jennifer is a_ fighter_ . . . she _should_ wake up, but prepare yourselves for the possibility that she may not _ever_ regain consciousness . . . and if she does wake up she may not be the same girl she was _before_ her injuries. I fully intend to see this case through to it's end, and I'm optimistic that she'll make a full recovery thanks to Mr. van der Woodsen and his timely phone call to our ambulance service. She was _dead_ when she got here Mr. Humphrey, but our E.R. staff managed to revive her so I could operate. None of that would have been possible without Mr. van der Woodsen. I would thank him. My wife, also Dr. Shepherd, will be in in a moment to discuss other matters."

Though Dr. Shepherd had intended his assessment of Jenny's condition to remain between him and Ms. Humphrey's father and brother, the waiting room was just too small to keep the others from hearing every word he'd said. Serena, Blair, Lily, and Eric were all crying. Chuck had already heard a similar premonition from the doctor, but hearing it for the second time didn't do anything to quell his worry over Jenny.

"I suppose we should talk about insurance and finances now, right?" Rufus cringed, wondering how he was going to pay for Jenny's medical bills.

"There's nothing to talk about, Mr. Humphrey," Dr. Shepherd told the worried man. "On occasion I take on pro bono cases . . . when your daughter came in last night we didn't have a positive I.D. and she needed the surgery right away, so I made _her_ one of my pro bono cases. You won't be charged a _dime_ for _any_ of the treatment she receives here and that _includes_ outpatient treatment as well."

"Thank you!" Rufus nearly cried, tears welling up in his eyes. _"Thank you so much!!"_

Dr. Shepherd nodded and left to check on Jenny.

The female Dr. Shepherd walked into the waiting room a few minutes later and made her way to Dan and Rufus.

"Hi," she greeted, a gentle, understanding smile on her face. "Because of the circumstances of your daughter's discovery and the nature of her injuries, I processed the case as though I was collecting evidence from a crime scene. You'll be happy to know that I didn't find anything out of the ordinary and her rape kit came back clean."

"Thank God," Rufus breathed, relieved that Jenny hadn't suffered any more trauma.

"Unfortunately, we'll only know what happened to her when she can tell us herself, which I'm sure my husband has told you may or may not happen. I wish you the best of luck," she said genuinely, leaving the room.

Dan shoved his hands in his pants pockets and walked to the opposite corner of the room, needing a moment to himself after hearing the doctor's prognosis. After a few minutes, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Vanessa's number.

"Hey Dan!" Vanessa greeted her best friend, trying to remain cheerful in the hope that it might rub off on him. She wasn't sure how she felt about Jenny and her disappearance. They'd been friends for a long time, but the last time she'd seen the younger girl she was kissing Nathaniel Archibald, the object of Vanessa's very real affection, which Jenny knew about, and she'd felt betrayed by the girl that was like a little sister to her.

"Vanessa," Dan said, then stopped, unable to go on. He was choking on tears, temporarily voiding his ability to speak.

"Dan?" Vanessa queried, he sounded funny and not in a good way. "Dan, are you _okay_?"

"No," Dan choked out.

"What _is_ it, Dan? Is it Jenny?" Vanessa guessed, wondering if the run away had been found.

"She's in the hospital, Vanessa," Dan told her, his voice strained. "She might _die_."

Any feelings of hurt or betrayal Vanessa felt toward Jenny evaporated at his words, "Oh my God . . . What hospital are you at?"

"It's called the Shepherd-Sloane Private Practice," Dan told her. "It's on Park Ave and West 57th. I _need_ you here," he admitted, his voice still thick with unshed tears.

"I'm on my way," Vanessa assured him, unshed tears thick in her voice as well.

"Thank you," Dan imparted and hung up. Then he looked to Serena, his eyes telling her everything he was feeling – fear, doubt, anger, bitterness, and sadness, worry – and she held out her arms for him. He rushed into them and held her tight, her presence and touch making things slightly more bearable.

Blair flipped her cell phone open and scrolled down to the Ns, looking as though she were about to make a phone call.

"Who're you calling?" Chuck demanded, his voice harsh at the news, almost expecting her to be calling one of her minions.

Blair's lip trembled a little at his mean tone, but when she spoke she spoke as if she were ordering around Kati, Isabel, Penelope, or Nelly Yuki, "I'm calling _Nate_," she announced.

Dan pulled away from Serena enough to glare at Blair, "Don't you _dare_ call _him_! He has _no right_ to be here!"

Blair pushed herself out of her seat and put her hands on her hips, glaring right back at Dan, "Nate is in _LOVE_ with Jenny. He has a _right_ to know about her condition as much as anyone in this room! Do you _honestly_ believe he _meant_ to betray you when he fell for her? He feels absolutely _awful_ about the whole thing, but _that_ doesn't mean you get to judge him Dan Humphrey! She's _not_ just another _girl_ to him . . . she's _the_ girl to him, _for_ him! Serena, Chuck, tell Dan what I'm saying is _true_! You all _saw _it in his eyes just like I did! You all _heard _him confess his love with your own two ears. We've known Natie since we were practically in _diapers_, Dan – we _know_ him and he _LOVES_ her! He admitted it to us! Serena, Chuck!"

"It's true, Dan," Serena admitted, her navy blue eyes completely clear in her honesty.

"It's true, Humphrey," Chuck added, his tone audibly sincere and smooth. "Who do you think he whined about it to when you kicked him out on his _ass_ and _abandoned_ him? He feels _awful_ for betraying your trust and he is _100%_ in _love_ with your little sister. He's been _sick_ with worry since she disappeared."

"I don't _care_ what you think, I'm calling him _anyway_," Blair rebelled, her voice acidic. She pressed dial and waited for Nate to answer. He picked up on the second ring.

"Blair?" Nate asked, still disoriented from his concussion and the addition of the pain meds and anti-inflammatories.

"Nate, get your _ass_ over to Dr. Shepherd's," Blair commanded, not giving him the chance to ask why. "Jenny's in the hospital here and she's in _bad_ shape. I _know_ how you feel about her and I _know_ you want to be here. _Come_."

"What about Dan?" Nate queried, he and Dan were still on rocky terms.

"Fuck Dan, just _get_ here and make it _fast_," Blair ordered.

"I'm on my way," Nate told her.

Blair snapped her phone shut and retook her seat, glaring at Dan again, "What if it were _Serena_ in that room, Dan? How would _you_ feel if you couldn't be here for _her_?"

"Blair, that's _enough_," Serena raised her voice dangerously. "I think Dan has gotten the picture."

Blair crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Chuck for not backing her up more.

Ten minutes later Nate and Vanessa walked into the waiting room. Nate looked high or drunk because of his disorientation from his concussion and this wasn't lost on anyone. Dan let go of Serena and approached Nate

"Just so you know," Dan spat, "you're _not_ welcome here!" And he gave him a solid right hook to the temple, causing Nate to crash to the floor, hitting his head on a plush chair and finally cracking it on the blue-carpeted floor, leaving him unconscious.

Chuck rushed to Nate and shook him, but he didn't wake up.

"You asshole!" Chuck barked at Dan. "He already _has_ a severe concussion! Would you like to know _why_?" Chuck got in Dan's face.

"I don't give a fuck," Dan growled, unrepentant. Clearly, his emotions were getting the better of him and Nate was his target for channeling them.

Chuck grabbed Dan by the front of his shirt so that he remained in his face, "He had a _panic_ attack over the _whole_ thing . . . you, Jenny, your dad . . . he was so _freaked_ out he passed out from a standing position and cracked his head open on the pavement, you douche bag! _Now_ do you get how much he _cares_ about _your_ family? Are you _happy_ with yourself because he's _not_ waking up?"

Chuck released Dan, pushing him away, and went to the nurse's station to request that Dr. Shepherd take a look at Nate.

"Dan," Rufus warned, "I _know_ you're messed up over your sister, but that's _not_ an excuse to go around punching people. Calm down, or I'll _make_ you!"

Dr. Shepherd returned to the waiting room with Chuck and a nurse from the nurse's station. He flashed a light into Nate's eyes, "Pupils are unreactive. We need to get him a CT scan right away."

Dr. Shepherd examined the stitches on the back of Nate's head, they weren't as perfect as his own would have been and they needed to be fixed.

"Get a stretcher in here," he commanded the nurse, who nodded and left to retrieve a stretcher.

The female nurse, Nurse Badgley, returned with a male nurse, Nurse Szohr, and they lifted Nate onto the stretcher to get him downstairs for a CT scan. Chuck went with them.

"Get the results to me as _soon_ as they're available," Dr. Shepherd ordered. He turned his attention to Dan, "I know I just told you a_ lot_ of unpleasant information and it's a _lot_ to handle but that does _not_ excuse your behavior nor will I _allow_ that type of behavior to occur in _my_ practice Mr. Humphrey. If you'd like to be _here_ when your sister wakes up I _suggest_ you keep your hands to _yourself_, otherwise I'll have you drop-kicked out of here and _permanently_ banned from the premises!"

Dan took a seat away from everybody, including Serena, and hung his head in guilt. He was just so overwhelmed and it had been so easy to take his emotions out on Nate that he didn't stop to let all the information Blair, Chuck, and Serena were giving him sink in and stick. He knew Nate and he knew how sorry he was, and he'd just sent him downstairs for a necessary CT scan because he couldn't keep his emotions reigned in long enough to give his friend a chance. He was truly ashamed of himself, and finally, the tears came. They started out as dry sobs, but eventually his face was wet with them as they ceaselessly poured out of his eyes. Serena came and put her arm around his shoulders and he leaned into her, sobbing into her hair as she shushed him and rubbed wide circles on his back.

Vanessa wanted desperately to console Dan as well, so she sat on the other side of him and took his hand in hers, squeezing it supportively.

~*~

After the CT scan, Nurses Badgley and Szohr, took Nate to a private room. Dr. Shepherd entered a few minutes later with the scans and some smelling salts which he waved beneath Nate's nose. Nate startled awake, his head pounding, "Jenny."

"Well, if you didn't have a severe concussion _before_, you do _now_," Dr. Shepherd informed him. "That means another twelve hours without sleep and no more pain killers."

"Doctor, is everything you said about Jenny _true_, or were you just retelling her symptoms to her family?" Chuck piped up, sitting in the plush blue chair on the right side of Nate's bed.

"Everything I said is true," Dr. Shepherd told the two young men. "Nothing that happened last night is your fault," he reassured them. "The damage to Ms. Humphrey's temporal lobe caused the seizure. She would have had it no matter where she was and when she was at Dr. Crawford's clinic she was up and walking, which would have put her in far worse condition than she is now. Unfortunately, hitting her head again undid all the work I put into the first surgery. I had to shave her head this time and remove a portion of her skull to relieve the pressure just like last time, but she woke up once gentlemen, I'm sure she'll wake up again."

Nate and Chuck nodded, "She also re-cracked and bruised her ribs.

"Nate, I'd like you to rest here for awhile before you join everyone upstairs," Dr. Shepherd said.

"How long is _awhile_?" Nate asked, he wasn't angry with Dan for hitting him but he wanted to be there when Jenny woke up.

"I'm afraid I'd like to keep you overnight for observation, which means you'll be staying in this room until tomorrow morning," Dr. Shepherd informed him.

"No, please," Nate begged, "I _have_ to be up there when she wakes _up_!"

Dr. Shepherd took a minute to think, "I'll have Nurses Badgley and Szohr set up a cot for you in the waiting room, but you'll have to deal with a portable heart-monitoring machine, a rolling I.V. stand, and a portable EEG machine with nodes attached to your head.

"I don't _care_, just make sure I'm _there_," Nate pleaded. "Besides, Blair, Vanessa, and Serena will have _no_ problem keeping me awake with the way they chatter."

~*~

An hour later, Nate was all set up in the waiting room with everyone else.

Dan approached him cautiously, "I'm _so_ sorry, man. I couldn't deal with the news about Jenny and I took it out on you. I'm _really_ ashamed of myself _and_ my actions. I'm _so_ sorry."

"It's okay, Dan," Nate reassured him, "I probably would have done the same thing, and I _did_ betray you and for that I'm sorry."

"It's in the past," Dan acknowledged. "Let's keep it there?"

"Sounds good," Nate agreed, smiling.

Dan smiled back and everything was alright between them.

An hour passed . . . nothing new on Jenny . . .

Two hours passed . . . still nothing . . .

Three hours passed . . . Blair ordered in a take-out feast from Butter . . .

Four hours passed . . . everyone felt like they were going crazy . . .

Five hours passed . . . Dr. Shepherd came in to let Dan and Rufus know that Jenny was awake. He led both men to Jenny's I.C.U. room to greet her.

~*~

Jenny was awake and much more calm than she'd been at Dr. Crawford's clinic, the shades of blue in her room much more soothing than the bright orange and green of her other hospital room, though she only recalled the scary colors and not her actual hospital stay.

Dan, Rufus, and Dr. Shepherd entered the room quietly, elated to see the eye that was visible open and alert.

"Hi," Dr. Shepherd greeted his patient.

Jenny just stared at him. Her head felt funny and it hurt like the dickens.

"Can you tell us your name?" Dr. Shepherd asked, gently. Jenny had yet to see Dan and Rufus.

"J-j . . . J," she replied, unable to remember anything but the single letter.

"Good J," Dr. Shepherd encouraged.

He went through all the tests he'd performed when he'd brought her out of her coma. Her reactions were slightly less than they'd been originally, but Jenny's brain was still very swollen and she hadn't had a full seven days to recover unheeded like the last time.

"I have some people here that want to say hi to you . . . to welcome you back," Dr. Shepherd told her, moving out of the way so she could see her father and brother.

Jenny just stared at them.

"Hi baby girl," Rufus cooed, like she really was a baby.

"Hey sis," Dan added, a crooked smile decorating his lips.

Jenny stared some more and Rufus went to take her hand, but she pulled her arm away as if he'd intended to burn her and kept it tucked against her chest.

"W-w . . . w-wh . . . w-who . . . a-a . . . a-ar . . . a-are . . . y-y . . . y-yo . . .y-you?" She asked, her voice raspy.

"It's Dad, Jenny, and Dan, your big brother," Rufus responded, confused.

Jenny stared at them some more, distrust beginning to show in her visible eye.

"I-I . . . I . . . d-d . . . d-do . . . d-don . . . d-don't . . . k-kn . . . k-kno . . . k-know . . . y-y . . . y-yo . . . y-you!" She started to squirm.

"I-I . . . I . . . d-d . . .d-do . . . d-don . . . d-don't . . . l-l . . . l-li . . . l-lik . . . l-like . . . y-y . . . y-yo . . . y-you!" She squealed, becoming alarmed and pushing her legs against the mattress to try to get as far away as possible from the strange men she didn't know and didn't like.

"G-g . . . g-go . . . a-a . . . a-aw . . . a-awa . . . a-away! Nate!" Jenny shrieked, wriggling dangerously. "I-I . . . I . . . w-w . . . w-wa . . . w-wan . . . w-want . . . Nate! Nate! Nate! Nate!" She screamed, yanking on her I.V. and pulling it out. She ripped away all the wires attached to her body and scooted toward the end of the bed, slipping off between the rails and the plastic foot board and making a run for it.

It all happened so fast, Dr. Shepherd, Rufus, and Dan didn't have time to try and keep her in the room. She bolted out the glass door screaming "Nate!" at the top of her lungs. She ran past the open waiting room door and caught sight of Chuck, but not Nate since he was being forced to lie down.

"_Chuck_!" Jenny shrieked once before screaming, "Nate! Nate! Nate!"

She reached a dead end when she hit the bathroom door and she pushed herself against it, cowering as Dr. Shepherd, Rufus, Dan and Nurses Badgley and Szohr approached her. Nurse Badgley was carrying a syringe.

"N-n . . . n-no! _Chuck_! Nate! _Chuck_! S-s . . . s-st . . . s-sta . . . s-stay . . . a-a . . . a-aw . . . a-awa . . . a-away! I-I . . . d-d . . . d-do . . . d-don . . . d-don't . . . l-l . . . l-li . . . l-lik . . . l-like . . . y-y . . . y-yo . . . y-you! Nate!" Jenny screamed, terrified. "Nate! _Chuck_! Nate! D-d . . . d-do . . . d-don . . . d-don't . . . l-l . . . l-le . . .l-let . . . t-t . . . t-th . . . t-the . . . t-them . . . h-h . . . h-hu . . . h-hur . . . h-hurt . . . m-m . . . m-me! Nate!"

Nurse Badgley and Nurse Szohr advanced toward her cautiously.

By then everyone in the waiting room was out in the wide hall wondering what the hell was going on. The sight of more people she didn't know only served to make her more anxious.

"Nate! Nate! _Chuck_! H-h . . . h-he . . . h-hel . . . h-help! Nate!" Jenny wouldn't stop screaming and her bare feet kept slipping and sliding on the marble floor as she continued to push herself against the bathroom door, as if she thought if she kept pushing eventually she'd start moving backwards again away from the people that she didn't know.

Nurse Badgley came at her from the right and Nurse Szohr came at her from the left. Suddenly Nurse Szohr dove at Jenny, pinning her against the wall with her arms as Nurse Badgley injected the needle into the right side of her neck.

"Nate! _Chuck_! Nate!" Jenny continued to scream, her voice hoarse from it. "Na . . ."

Jenny's head went limp and her body slumped in Nurse Szohr's grasp. The male nurse scooped Jenny up and carried her, now completely unconscious, back to her room.

"What on earth just happened?" Lily asked, putting a hand to Rufus' upper arm.

He shook her hand off, his face unabashedly crestfallen, "She doesn't remember."

"She has no idea who we are," Dan whispered hollowly to himself. He folded his arms across his chest, hugging himself. "She has absolutely no idea who we are."

Dr. Shepherd had gone with the two nurses to oversee the replacement of Jenny in her bed.

"I want a CT and an MRI, yesterday," he barked. He followed them out of the I.C.U. as they headed toward the elevator to the fifth floor, but returned to the waiting room to speak with Rufus and Dan.

"She doesn't remember us," Rufus echoed, painfully.

"Not even a little," Dan said, still hugging himself.

"She can barely speak," Rufus added, his voice turning hollow like Dan's.

"It appears that Jenny is suffering from amnesia and part of her brain isn't allowing her to communicate properly," Dr. Shepherd stated the obvious. "I've sedated her and sent her down for another CT and MRI. When I have the results, I'll notify you," he told Rufus and Dan. "You've _got_ to remember that Jenny's_ just_ come out of a _major_ surgery, her brain is _severely_ swollen and is recovering from _severe_ bleeding. She's also on a _lot_ of medication. I _know_ that this is hard for you, but be _thankful_ she can still walk and run. _That_ is the _positive_ thing here. Try to focus on _it_ and just give her _time_."

"Why does she remember Nate and Chuck, but not her own father and brother?" Lily asked.

"Sometimes, in rare cases, a patient may selectively remember people he or she had strong feelings for before the injury and no one else, including themselves," Dr. Shepherd answered. "It's hard to say why this occurs in some cases but it happens. Is she especially attached to Nate and Chuck?"

"We're pretty sure she's in love with Nate, but Chuck . . . as far as we know she doesn't particularly like him," Serena answered for everyone.

"I didn't say the feelings had to be _positive_ ones," Dr. Shepherd pointed out.

"But she was calling out to me for _help_," Chuck observed, quietly, shaken by the scene that had just unfolded.

"The brain is a complex organ . . . We have yet for someone to unlock all it's mysteries . . . I can't tell you why she remembers the people she does . . . she just does . . . but that doesn't mean the amnesia is permanent," Dr. Shepherd monotoned. "Stay positive around her and she'll stay positive. That's the only advice I can give you at this point."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Gossip Girl. It belongs to The CW and author Cecily von Ziegesar. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the episodes "There Might Be Blood," "The Magnificent Archibalds," and "It's a Wonderful Lie" are in this fic.

Summary: AU Crossover – A different take on the end of "There Might Be Blood."

Pairings: Jenny/Nate, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan, Eric/Jonathan, Rufus/Lily/Bart, Vanessa/Aaron (from the book not the show – he was totally not cute on the show and didn't have any personality), Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia (he and Willow never cheated, they never broke up, she and Angel never had a thing, and she didn't die – sorry but I hated Anya and Xander together and I can't see him with Vanessa. Also, he doesn't lose his eye – I like my Xander whole.)

**Author's Note: In this fic Jenny is only a year younger than Dan, which means she and Eric are juniors at Constance Billiard and St. Jude's when Dan, Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa, and Nate are all seniors. Also, she got the internship with Eleanor Waldorf the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. In the Buffyverse, season 7 is coinciding with season 2 of Gossip Girl. I know in the series Chuck only has a personal suite, but a personal penthouse just works out better for the storyline. Also, Chuck actually raped Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party, but nobody knows, not even Chuck himself. And yeah, I'm borrowing some names and job titles from Grey's Anatomy, but they aren't the actual Grey's characters, so technically I'm not stealing anything that is owned by anyone else. They may have the same jobs as their namesakes but they are still my creations. Also, by now, Eric has found Bart Bass' files on him, Lily, and Serena. Lily has discovered that Bart didn't really fire the private investigator and is planning on leaving him like in "It's a Wonderful Lie." I'm switching things that happened in that episode around though to suit my own purposes just in case anyone gets confused.

Rating: K+ for now, M later

The Taste of Bittersweet Exile

Chapter 9 – One by One

"The CT and MRI scans showed signs of bruising I didn't see on the ones we took before the surgery," Dr. Shepherd told Rufus and Dan, and basically everyone else in the room, which included Serena, Blair, Chuck, Nate, Vanessa, Lily and Eric. "It could be the cause of her amnesia and her inability to communicate effectively. It's really up to you, Mr. Humphrey, but I'd like to induce a coma so she can heal uninhibited for a while."

"Do it," Rufus intoned, immediately, "I don't care _what_ you have to do, as long as it helps my baby girl, just do it," he pleaded.

"_Our_ baby girl," Alison, Dan and Jenny's mother and Rufus' former wife, said, walking into the waiting room. Rufus looked to Dan, who returned his gaze with confusion.

"_I_ called her," Vanessa spoke up, receiving a glare from both Dan and Rufus. "What? I thought she had a right to know that Jenny had finally been found!"

"Do what needs to be done, doctor," Alison relayed to the surprised Dr. Shepherd. "Just like my ex-husband said."

"Okay," Dr. Shepherd answered, a bit awkwardly. Jenny's mother was in the company of a tall, blond haired man with whom she was holding hands. "I have to tell you,_ all_ of you that none of you will be able to see her, with the exception of Mr. Archibald, while she's in the coma. When _I_ feel she has recovered enough to bring her out of the coma, the only people I will allow to visit her on a regular basis are Mr. Archibald and Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd informed them, shocking everyone in the room.

"_What_?" Rufus demanded. "I'm her _father_; you can't keep me away from her!"

"And I'm her mother!" Alison argued, "You're going to let two teenaged boysvisit her and not her own _mother_?"

"If you had been _here_," Dr. Shepherd told the angry woman who was now in his face, taking her by the shoulders and physically moving her out of his personal bubble of space and speaking to her as though she were unfit, "and had seen her response to her father and brother, you would understand why I'm only allowing two teenaged boys visit your daughter, Mrs. Humphrey. I'll let your ex-husband explain the details," he spat, "I have a patient to attend to."

Dr. Shepherd released her and left the room bristling, Chuck on his heels.

"Dr. Shepherd," Chuck called out, stopping the doctor in his tracks.

"Yes, Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd sighed, still angry with Mrs. Humphrey.

"I didn't _know_ her mother would be coming, she's usually . . . absent," Chuck explained. "_Why_, out of everyone, are you allowing _me_ to be a regular visitor when you bring her out of her coma?"

"Because she _remembers_ you," Dr. Shepherd explained simply, "and like you pointed out before, she was calling out to you for help when she was still conscious."

"How bad is it really, doctor?" Chuck asked, trying to get a grip.

"Ms. Humphrey may _never_ regain her memory, Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd told him honestly. "You and Mr. Archibald may end up being all she has left, but Mr. Archibald needs you right now, Mr. Bass. He's particularly attached to Ms. Humphrey and I'd suggest you return to him and _stay_ with him, at least during the day, when he's transferred back into an in-patient room. Since I'll be putting Ms. Humphrey back into a coma, there's no need for him to wait for her to wake up."

Chuck nodded, not quite sure how to take the information the reluctant doctor had shared with him, but he did as he was told, a rare thing. He returned to the waiting room, taking a seat next to Nate's cot and listening as Rufus informed Alison about Jenny's condition.

"She's been in some sort of accident, Alison and . . ." Rufus trailed off, looking to the man his ex-wife was holding hands with.

"Alex," Alison provided, paling like Dan had when the receptionist had called him 'the brother of that _poor_ girl' in the lobby, at the word accident. "What _kind_ of accident? And why didn't I receive a phone call from you, instead of having to hear it second hand from Dan's friend?"

"Truth be told, Alison, we're _all_ hearing it second hand," Rufus revealed, getting to his feet and storming toward his ex, "and it's not like I _didn't_ call you to let you know she'd run away," he bristled. "You should have shown your face _then,_ instead of waiting until now and showing up with your new boyfriend without calling first. I could have used some warning!"

"He's not my _new_ boyfriend, Rufus, which is _totally_ beside the point," Alison argued, marching up to him and getting in his face like she had with Dr. Shepherd, "he's the same man I was with _before_ we divorced, and you really don't have any right to throw that in my face since you're sitting here with _Lily van der Woodsen_! Oh wait," Alison slapped her forehead as though she'd forgotten something important, "It's Lily _Bass_ now, isn't it? Honestly Rufus, I don't know _how_ you keep track of all her love lives, especially considering you_ aren't_ one of them."

Dan couldn't stand it anymore. He shot to his feet, still clutching Serena and Vanessa's hands, "Shut_ up_! The both of you just shut_ up_! We're here because of _Jenny_, not to compare relationship _score_ cards!" He shouted, yanking his hands out of the two girls'. Dan pointed at his mother first, "You, shut _up_ and sit _down_!" he commanded, and, surprisingly, she obeyed, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. Then he pointed to his father, "And you, shut up and sit down too!" Rufus obeyed his son as well with much the same reaction as his ex. Dan took one look at Alex, shouting, "You're not a part of this, so make yourself _useful_ and get all of us some coffee, and I mean everysingle person in this room! Make the guy on the stretcher's with a triple-shot of espresso since he's not allowed to sleep for the next several hours."

Alex glowered at Dan, but had nothing to contribute verbally, accepting that he really _didn't_ have a place there except to comfort Alison. He didn't really know her kids, he hadn't taken a chance to _get_ to know them because he hadn't been sure if he and Alison were the real thing or if he was just the rebound guy she slept with to get over her strained marriage. Now that he was certain that that wasn't the case, which he'd known for several months now, he really should have made an effort to connect with her children but he _hadn't_, which made Dan right, he really didn't deserve to be there, so he did the only thing he _could_ do and followed the teenager's instructions to get everyone coffee.

Dan turned back to his parents, an angry scowl plastered on his face. Lily Bass got up and went to leave as well, but Dan had different plans, "Lily stay. You've been more of a mother to Jenny than her own has been for a long time now and _I_ want you here; plus, you're good with my Dad. He's hiding how he's really feeling to protect me and Jenny like he _always_ does and he needs your support."

"Alright, Daniel," Lily agreed, blushing slightly underneath Alison's calloused gaze, "I'll stay, but I need to make a phone call to my husband. Charles, darling, I need to speak with you out in the hallway," she requested, and Chuck got up for the second time in the span of a few minutes to leave the waiting room.

"Blair, Serena, get Nate whatever he wants until I come back," Chuck instructed. "Dr. Shepherd has put _me_ in charge of his well-being until he's cleared of his concussion since his father is in Federal custody and his mother is at their house in the Hamptons trying to survive the _embarrassment_ of the whole ordeal. She won't be making an appearance any time soon."

They walked out into the hallway and Lily turned to face Chuck.

"Charles," Lily began, "I wanted you to be the first to know that I plan on leaving your father. He lied to me about firing his private investigator and I simply cannot_ live_ with a man who doesn't trust me or my children enough to let us live our lives without someone watching our every move."

Chuck looked down, actually a little sad, "I can't say I'm surprised, but I wasn't expecting to be _disappointed_. You've been a better mother to me . . . well, the only mother actually and he doesn't seem to give a shit if I make an effort either way. You're the _only_ mother I've ever known," he repeated, " . . . the only person linked to my father I've ever actually considered family, but I've noticed how hard he's tried to make it work between the two of you. You owe him a conversation," Chuck concluded, a little embarrassed at having revealed some of his most secret feelings to her. "Rufus doesn't know yet?"

"I plan on having one with your father when he gets home from his latest business trip, and no, I haven't told Rufus yet. I want to clear the air with your father before I tell him," Lily told Chuck. "I'll be sorry to lose you as a son. If it's alright, I'd like to stay apart of your life."

"That would be . . . nice," Chuck admitted, showing his human side. "I have to get back to Nate."

"Alright, dear," Lily said, pulling her Blackberry out of her purse.

"I don't hold your connection with Rufus against you," Chuck revealed to her before she dialed his father. "I just recently figured out what it's like to be in love with someone and it doesn't just go away when you _want_ it to. . . I understand that now . . . This whole ordeal with Jenny has shown me just how important love is, and if Rufus is the one you love, then my father will live to see another wife," he told her, meaning every word.

"Thank you, Charles," Lily smiled bravely at her step-son before he returned to look after his friend.

She pressed the 'dial' button that led to Bart's direct line. He answered after five rings, "Hello, Lily."

"Bart," Lily acknowledged, her tone neutral. "I wanted to let you know I'm at the hospital with Rufus Humphrey . . . his missing daughter has been found and she's in critical condition."

Bart paused before giving an answer to her statement, "I'm sorry to hear that . . . Give Rufus my consolation."

"I will but that's not the only reason I called," Lily continued, taking a deep breath before announcing, "I know you didn't fire your private investigator. We need to have a longtalk when you come home."

"I'll be home in two days," Bart informed her. "We can talk then. Until then I hope you'll give me the benefit of the doubt."

"Alright . . . I'll do my best," Lily agreed, hanging up and returning to the waiting room.

~*~

Meanwhile in the Waiting Room

"Any questions anyone has," Dan said sternly, looking mostly between his mother and father before extending the look to everyone else, "will be directed at _me_, and _me_ alone, since the two of you can't seem to communicate _civilly_ on your own. Dad, I think I have a good handle on Dr. Shepherd's motives, so, since you've been here the whole time biting your nails with the rest of us, you get to ask first," he told his parents, unrepentant. When Rufus looked like he was about to speak, Dan help up a hand, not quite ready to answer his question as he had his own question to ask of Vanessa.

"Why didn't you tell us you called my mother?" Dan demanded, angrily.

Vanessa shrugged abashedly, "I didn't realize it would be such a big deal. I thought things were amiable between everyone, and honestly I forgot about the whole thing after the scene with Jenny."

"Next time _tell_ me about stuff like that okay?" Dan asked, pleading with her with his eyes. "Especially since you stopped visiting and calling the loft _after_ Nate moved in; thereby making whatever knowledge you had about how things were between us and my mom null and void."

Vanessa nodded her head, apologetic, "I'm sorry, Dan."

"Apology accepted," Dan returned the nod, turning back to his father and waving his hand at him to let him know he could ask his question now.

"Why wouldn't he let her own father and brother visit her, even when she's in a coma?" Rufus asked his son, forlornly.

"Dad, you saw how she reacted to us," Dan pointed out, hating the memory of the look of terror on her face, "Jenny was scared senseless and she has _no_ idea who we are . . . We're complete strangers to her and I think I remember reading somewhere that sometimes patients can hear people talking to them while they're in a coma, whether it's been induced or not," Dan explained. "Dr. Shepherd doesn't want to risk any more injury to her brain by having people around that might stress her out. She only remembers Nate and Chuck, and since we have no way of knowing whether her feelings for Chuck are positive or negative, he's only allowing Nate to visit her because we know for _sure_ her feelings for him are positive. Dr. Shepherd is only doing what his knowledge and expertise tell him is best for his patient, and _unfortunately_, you and I are not a part of that yet."

Rufus sighed heavily, hanging his head in his hands as his son had done after taking his unresolved emotions out on Nate, "You're right. I was so worked up over the whole scene with Jenny my sense of logic got skewed," the older man admitted, his face still hidden by his hands.

"Mom, it's your turn," Dan informed her, his voice less than welcoming.

"What _happened_?" Alison asked, wringing her hands in the exact same way Dan had when he'd first arrived to _The Shepherd-Sloane Private Practice_ with Chuck and Serena, before he'd let the receptionist know who he was and why he was there.

"Eric, are you capable of explaining your part in this?" Dan asked, shooting a concerned look at the younger boy.

"I suppose so," Eric agreed, turning in his seat to face Dan and Jenny's mother. "_I_ was the one who found Jenny," he explained. "Certain circumstances, which are unimportant to Jenny's condition, led me to the steps in front of _The Met_ very late on Saturday night, or really early Sunday morning, depending on how you look at it . . .Anyway, I was upset and didn't want to go home . . . but eventually it got so cold out I had to bite the bullet and just _do_ it. When I got up I noticed a body lying in a strange position on the stairs a few feet in front of me . . . It was Jenny and she wasn't breathing . . . so I called Dr. Shepherd's private ambulance and got her here . . . they rushed her into surgery and about twelve hours later, Dr. Shepherd came out and told me that she was recovering in the I.C.U., which is when I _finally_ called Serena, who put me on the phone with Dan . . . I told him I'd found Jenny and gave him Dr. Shepherd's name . . . it was all I could say at the time because my phone was dying, but I knew that Serena would know where she was once Dan told her what I'd told him . . . so, _eventually_, everyone showed up here and waited for her to wake up after her surgery," Eric finished.

"Do you have any other questions, Mom?" Dan asked, his tone toward her slightly deprecating.

"You're father said she was in some sort of accident?" Alison murmured as Chuck re-entered the waiting room.

"Actually," Dan started, "the other Dr. Shepherd," he stopped, realizing that his mother had no way of knowing the difference, "there're two Dr. Shepherds; one is the male neurosurgeon you've already talked to and the other is a female pediatrician and neo-natal surgeon. They're husband and wife," Dan clarified as Lily Bass quietly re-took her seat next to Rufus and put her hand comfortingly on his back.

"Bart sends his regards," she whispered, beginning to move her hand in the same comforting circles Serena had used to help calm Dan when he'd cried over Jenny.

"The other Dr. Shepherd," Dan continued, grateful that Lily was back in the room, "told us that because of the way Jenny was found and the nature of her wounds suggest foul play, but none of the tests she performed came up with any result, _including_ a negative on her rape kit."

"Oh, thank God," Alison breathed, holding a hand to her chest, tears springing to her eyes. "What _kinds_ of wounds?"

"The male Dr. Shepherd said that she was hit over the head multiple times with a heavy, blunt object to the front and right side of her head," Dan explained, impressed at how steady his voice sounded and nearly laughing with hilarity at the fact that he was being the parent instead of the child. "The blows caused bleeds in the frontal and temporal lobes of Jenny's brain. The blood killed some of the tissue in those regions of Jenny's brain which Dr. Shepherd removed after he repaired the tears that caused the bleeding in the first place," Dan went on, Serena grabbing his hand, knowing that even though he sounded fine, he really wasn't, and having to explain everything to his mother wasn't helping, ". . . the blows also caused Jenny's brain to swell, so Dr. Shepherd had to remove a piece of her cranium to relieve the pressure the swelling was putting on her already damaged brain . . . we all waited for hours for her to wake up after her surgery and she finally did about five hours later," Dan revealed to his mother's shaking frame, ". . . but when Dr. Shepherd asked her what her name was all she could say was J and when he presented her with Dad and me to welcome her back, she _totally_ freaked out . . . she has amnesia, Mom," Dan clarified. "She has _no_ idea who Dad and I are, and what's worse is she's terrified of us. When we tried to tell her who we were all she did was stare at us blankly like she'd never seen us before . . . then she got really agitated and pulled out her I.V. and all the cords that connected her to her bed and made a run for it, screaming out for Nate and Chuck, the two teenaged boys Dr. Shepherd is allowing to see her. They are the _only_ two people she remembers and can actually speak their names without any trouble."

"Oh my God," Alison trembled, tears making unattractive tracks in her make-up as they coursed down her attractive face. "So you're telling me that she has _no_ memory of anyone, just the two boys?"

"Yes," Dan stated, matter-of-factly.

Dan was relieved that Alex had returned with everyone's coffee then so _he_ could comfort his mother. He was angry with her for not showing up when his father had called to tell her Jenny had run away in the first place, the same as Rufus was, too angry to even _consider_ what it would be like to try and comfort her himself. After all, she hadn't made any moves to comfort _him_.

The waiting room door opened then and Nurses Badgley and Szohr came in carrying a stretcher to put Nate on to transfer him to an in-patient room. They used the blankets on the cot to make a quick trade to the stretcher and Chuck got up to follow them to Nate's room along with Blair and Eric.

"He'll be in room 317 on the third floor," Chuck told Dan as he and the two nurses passed, "if you want to pay him a visit. I know he'd like to see you."

"I really would," Nate intoned from his place on the stretcher, still out of it. His hearing was apparently fine though, "I missed having you as a friend, Dan . . . and I really _do_ love her, I _swear_," he swore to the other young man, sounding truly stoned from the double dose of pain medication he'd taken before his arrival to the hospital and the extra hits he'd taken to the head on Dan's account.

"I know you love her, Nate . . . I'll be there as soon as I can manage," Dan promised, ". . . drink your coffee. It'll help you stay awake." He watched as the six of them disappeared from the waiting room before returning his gaze to his mother and Alex, who she was filling in on the details she'd discovered about Jenny's condition. "Do you have any _other_ questions, Mom?"

"Is that everything?" Alison asked, jogging Dan's memory about the other things the male Dr. Shepherd had told him and his dad.

"She has two broken and three bruised ribs, and her right cheekbone is completely shattered but the plastic surgeon can't fix that until the swelling in her brain has gone down significantly," Dan added to the list of injuries.

"Oh Rufus," Alison cried, looking to her ex-husband, "how are we going to _pay_ for all this?"

"All questions are directed at _me_ Mom, remember?" Dan waved his free hand in front of his mother's face so that she would return her gaze to him, even angrier with her for even _wondering_ about hospital bills when she'd just discovered her daughter might not make it. She nodded and Lily handed her some tissue from her handbag, which the other woman took without a word or even a dirty look. In fact, she _almost_ looked grateful to the other woman she'd always hated for being Rufus' first love.

"Right," Alison nodded, blowing her nose and looking to her son.

"Dr. Shepherd, the brain surgeon, took Jenny on as a pro bono case because they didn't have a positive identification of her when she first got here and they needed to get her into surgery right away . . .," Dan paused, not certain if he should include the next bit, but decided to be a little cruel to make up for the fact that their mother had not done so much as _lift_ a finger to aid in the search for her youngest child, ". . . she was _dead_ when she got here, Mom."

"Oh God," Alison wailed, her shoulders heaving hugely as she cried for her daughter. It felt oddly satisfying watching her be miserable for both Rufus and Dan. Alex took Alison in his arms and patted at her awkwardly.

"It helps if you look her in the eyes, get her to take deep breaths, and kiss her on the cheek if you want to calm her down," Rufus advised condescendingly, his tone unfriendly toward the man his wife had cheated on him with.

"Dad, I thinkthat you should go home and try to rest," Dan suggested. "I'm going to stay here and hang with Nate for awhile . . . make sure he's okay, but I won't be out late."

"I'll go home with your father, Dan," Lily reassured him, squeezing his shoulder. "I'll be there for him until you're ready . . . and please tell Charles he's welcome to stay at the family penthouse while his father is gone."

"Thankyou, Lily," Dan enthused as he watched his girlfriend's mother leave with his father.

All the teens' phones buzzed at exactly the same moment, and they all looked at each other, knowing this could mean only one thing: a Gossip Girl blast.

"Greetings Upper East Siders! It looks like all our favorite members of the **Constance Billiard Academy for Girls **and **St. Jude's** **Academy for Boys **royalty are rallying for parts on _**General Hospital**_! That's right, kiddies, all those seemingly perfect classmates we **love** to **hate** have gathered at the same spot and it's not **Barney's** or **Bendel's** . . . in fact, it's not even a place a group of people would gather unless there's been some sort of tragedy . . .

**Sightings**

**Lonely boy** being offered a ride in a limousine belonging to a certain purple-suit wearing male socialite with girlfriend **S** outside her and **C's** family penthouse. Their ultimate destination . . . **The Shepherd-Sloane Private Practice**, the Upper East Side's elite home away from home for everything from pediatrics and lollipops to face lifts and lipo with the occasional brain surgery thrown in just for kicks. That's right my lovelies, **C**, **D**, & **S** arrived at the acclaimed private practice not long after departing from **C** & **S's** family penthouse. Just minutes after the trio's arrival, **D's** dad **R** showed up in a cab with none other than **S's** mom **L**, who were spotted out together the night before getting drunk and wild at an old band's concert and ending up at **D** and Little **J's** loft in **Brooklyn**, lending further evidence to one of my source's theory that they are secretly having an affair. Two minutes later, **B** showed her face at the prestigious medical practice looking in fine health but with a dramatic worried look on her face that matched everyone else's. Twenty minutes later, **N** & **V** joined the party . . . Which begs the question . . . Why are eight people in _perfectly_ good health gathering at a top notch medical practice? A source places **S's** little brother **E** prodding a mysterious body on the steps in front of **The Met** late last night and climbing into an ambulance heading in the direction of that very same renowned medical practice. The only common denominator . . . Little **J**. Could it be that Little **J** has _finally_ shown her face after over a week of hiding it? And what could have happened to her that required **E** to call an ambulance, _especially_ such an exclusive and private one? You're just as clueless as I am, my dears. A special prize goes to the person who can figure this mystery out first! Until next time Upper East Siders . . .

You know you love me,

Gossip Girl"

"I really, _really_ hate her," Dan steamed, his face turning scarlet with repressed anger. Serena and Vanessa both nodded in agreement. The last thing Jenny needed was for kids of all ages showing up and trying to find out if what Gossip Girl presumed had happened was true so they could be the first one to break the news to the whole of the Upper East Side in order to get whatever prize the infamous web-blogger was offering for the truth.

~*~

Later That Afternoon

When Dan, Serena, Chuck and Blair decided to go and let Nate rest, Vanessa stayed behind, promising Dan she'd swing by the loft later. She sat quietly in one of the blue plush chairs, the silence between her and Nate awkward.

"So," Vanessa started, uncomfortably, ". . . you and Jenny, huh? I didn't see that one coming."

"I didn't either," Nate admitted, honestly. "I didn't _mean_ to fall for her Vanessa . . . It just happened."

"So I guess that means there's absolutely no chance of anything ever happening between _you_ and _me_ again . . ."

"I wish I could give you another answer . . . one that _wouldn't_ hurt you . . . but anything I felt for you has been long gone," he told her, continuing with honesty, figuring it was better that way, ". . . _way_ before any of the feelings I developed for Jenny . . . and I can tell you that she's sorry," Nate said, ". . . she went after you when you saw us kissing because she _really_ cared that you were hurting . . . neither one of us planned this."

"I know," Vanessa admitted, figuring honesty was the best policy as well. "I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't sorry she was gone . . . that's how hurt I was . . . I expected more out of her and I let my disappointment keep me from worrying about how lost and scared she must have been . . . just goes to show how _awful_ a person I am . . . first I don't get involved when you had no place to stay and then I _condemn_ a girl who's like a little sisterto me to a life on the streets, thinking she deserved what she got for hurting me."

"You're not a bad person, Vanessa," Nate insisted, genuinely. "You're human."

"Thank you for saying that," Vanessa told him, ". . . it doesn't really make me feel any better."

"Jenny wouldn't want you to be down on yourself, Vanessa," Nate assured her. "She'd want you to move on and create more of your brilliant films . . . There's someone out there for you . . . just because _I'm_ not the one for you doesn't mean there isn't someone else even better. We had some good times . . . let's just remember those and be friends."

Vanessa nodded, "I'd like that . . . and I don't hold anything against you if I didn't make that clear already . . . you don't choose who you love . . . love just kind of picks you . . . I mean, take a look at Chuck and Blair."

Nate laughed, "An excellent point . . . I can't think of a more dysfunctional functional couple."

"So it's really love, isn't it?" Vanessa asked, just making sure. "Between you and Jenny . . . You love each other?"

"I can'ttell you how Jenny feels," Nate said, trying to word things in the least hurtful way, "but on my end . . . I'm in love with her . . . I've never felt anything_ close_ to how I feel about her."

Vanessa looked down at her folded hands, "I think it's pretty safe to say she's in love with you too, Nate . . . she wouldn't _remember_ you if she wasn't . . . why she remembers Chuck, I have _no_ idea."

"I think everyone's pretty clueless about that one," Nate shared, knowing it was the truth. "I'm not even sure _Chuck_ knows."

"I guess I'd better be on my way," Vanessa told him, feeling it was her cue to exit, ". . . you need your rest and I promised my sister, Ruby, that I'd help her set up for her gig tonight at _The Five and Dime_ . . . SugarDaddy's playing there _again_ . . . plus, I want to finish up early so I can be there for Dan . . . I've really been neglecting our friendship and I know he has Serena, but he needs everyone he can get to support him through this mess."

"I would be there for him if I could," Nate murmured.

"The best thingyou can do for Dan right now is be there for Jenny," Vanessa told him, seriously. "They've _always_ been really close, and knowing him as long as I have, I knowhow much it's killing him that she doesn't remember him . . . It doesn't even sound like she remembers herself."

"We'll _all_ be waiting in suspense until Dr. Shepherd brings her out of her coma . . . until then we're all in the same boat," Nate said honestly. "Just because I get to see her doesn't mean she'll still remember me when she wakes up."

Vanessa nodded, "Take care, Nate."

"See you around, Vanessa," Nate felt like they were saying goodbye, but not to each other, to the relationship they had once shared.

~*~

Later That Night

Nate was all alone now. Chuck, Blair, Serena, Dan, and Vanessa had all been gone for hours with promises to return the next day. Blair had practically had to drag Chuck out of his hospital room kicking and screaming until Dr. Shepherd insisted that Chuck go home and get some proper rest. Nate _still_ wasn't allowed to go to sleep and there was only one person on his mind . . . Jenny. He pushed the nurse call button and waited patiently for someone to respond. A male nurse came in a after a minute.

"Dr. Shepherd, the neurosurgeon, has given me exclusive permission to visit Jennifer Humphrey, the current patient in the I.C.U.. I'd like to visit her now if that's possible," Nate requested, politely.

"I'll get a wheelchair," the unknown nurse told him, returning just a minute later.

"I can get myself into the wheelchair . . . I'm feeling muchbetter now aside from the nasty headache and the itchy stitches," Nate told the male nurse when he attempted to help Nate up.

Nate made it successfully into the wheelchair and the nurse pushed him to the elevator, pressing the up button. It was a quiet journey to the seventh floor, to Jenny's room. The nurse pushed Nate to the left side of the bed and dragged a comfortable plush chair there for him to sit in as opposed to the uncomfortable wheelchair.

"Hit her call button when you're ready to go back to your room," the nurse instructed, leaving the two alone.

Nate gazed at the now bald Jenny and hissed in anger when he noticed the bruises on her face. She was still the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.

"Hey baby," Nate whispered reverently, "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you to protect you earlier . . . I _tried_ . . . This is allmy fault . . . that plan I came up with . . . I _never_ should have taken you out of Dr. Crawford's clinic."

"It isn't your fault, Nate," Dr. Shepherd's voice came out of the darkness as the man appeared in the room to check on his patient, "Everything that's happened . . . it wouldhave happened whether you had a plan or not . . . she's alive because of you . . . and her brother still gets a shot at a decent college . . . I haven't met many young men like you, Nate. Most of my clientele don't give a shit about their friends . . . not the way you do. Keep at it and you'll end up a great man someday . . . you're already an honorable young man with a good head on his shoulders. It takes a _real_ man to stay when things get tough and that's what you're doing. I can't _tell_ you how many patients I've had over the years that just couldn't weather the storm . . . but you're here and you're dealing with it and, if anything, Jenny's situation has only made you love her more . . . You can't see it now because you're so young, but what you have is really rare. The fact that you can _feel_ the kind of love you feel for Jenny at such a young age is rare . . . _you_ are rare. One day you'll come to appreciate that . . . and I know a certain blonde girl that's going to appreciate that too once she's all better."

"Thanks, Dr. Shepherd," Nate said, not really knowing anything else he could say.

"You're very welcome," Dr. Shepherd said, smiling at the teenager. "You'll be fine in a couple of days . . . you've already improved tremendously. I'll probably release you the day after tomorrow just so I know you've gotten in a good night's sleep . . . I'll let you alone with her now."

"Do you really think she'll come back from this?" Nate asked, desperate for a shred of hope.

"Sometimes I just get feelings about certain patients in my gut," Dr. Shepherd admitted, "and my _gut_ tells me that Jenny Humphrey is going to come out of this just fine. It'll take some work, but from what I've seen of her so far, she's got what it takes."

Nate nodded as the doctor left, "I know you probably can't hear me right now Jenny, but I'm promising you that I'm going to be a _real_ man, like the kind Dr. Shepherd was just talking about if you heard, and I'll _never_ leave you . . . I'll _always _be here to help you fight even when it gets hard . . . even when it feels_ impossible_ . . . I'll_ always _be here . . . _I'll always love you_."

Dr. Shepherd smiled as he heard the words Nate muttered to Jenny from his place at the nurse's station. It was so quiet in the hospital it was impossible _not_ to hear what the young man whispered to his love.

~*~

Two Days Later

Lily Bass sat on the comfortable couch in her finely furnished penthouse awaiting her husband's arrival home from his most recent business trip. He was due to show his face any minute, and they had the house all to themselves since all the children were at the hospital visiting Nathaniel Archibald, who was still an in-patient at _The Shepherd-Sloane Private Practice._ She suspected they were also there just so they could be close to Jenny, but that went unspoken.

The doorman huffed through the door just then carrying Bart's suitcase, officially announcing his arrival home. Lily set her hands in her lap a number of different ways as she awaited the actual appearance of her husband, but in the end she chose to fold them in her lap like a proper lady and adopted a dignified air to complete the appearance she wanted her husband to see the second he set foot in their home. She'd poured them each a glass of red wine to consume during their 'talk.'

"Hello, Lily," Bart greeted as he stepped off their private elevator.

"Bart," Lily acknowledged, nodding as she took in her husband's appearance, and not making a move to get up to greet him.

"I guess you want to get straight down to business," Bart said, formally. "I've always admired that in people . . . it's a wonder I didn't marry you _sooner_," he continued, taking a seat in front of the glass of red wine that Lily wasn't drinking.

"I really wanted to make this work, Bart," Lily told him, sipping at her wine, "but I _can't_ be married to a man that has me and my children followed around like some sort of paranoid delusional."

"I know," Bart acquiesced, admitting his fault, "but I swear I _have_ fired Andrew Tyler, that private investigator who gathered all those files."

"You told me that once before, Bart . . . how can I be sure this time?" Lily argued, arching her eyebrows.

"I don't expect you to trust me right away after what I did . . . It's uh . . . It's been a long time since I've been a husband, Lily," Bart admitted, and it was clear that this was very hard for him to say, ". . . but I promise, no more snooping . . . no more trying to control you and the kids . . . it's _done_ and I'm sorry . . . for everything," he said genuinely.

"Thank you . . . but um . . . I don't think that that's _enough_," Lily proclaimed, her heart aching as she thought of Rufus.

"Well, then tell me what _is_ and I'll do it," Bart insisted, eager to fix their marriage. "I can change, Lily, you _know_ I can . . . if you'll let me."

Lily thought long and hard about the repercussions her decision would make for all the kids and sighed, putting her heart on the back burner yet again, "Alright . . . I'll give you another chance . . . but I need you to know that regardless of the state our marriage is in I plan on remaining friends with Rufus Humphrey . . . Jenny's not doing so well, Bart, and he needs someone to be there for him . . . I'm going to be that person . . . and if our marriage is going to work I _need_ you to be okay with that."

"I'll do my best to accept it," Bart conceded, he couldn't really tell her that she couldn't after he'd told her he'd do anything to make their marriage work, ". . . just don't expect me to like the man."

"I'm not asking that of you," Lily told him, "I just thought you should know."

"I appreciate that," Bart revealed, still not happy with her choice of friends, but unwilling to say so after his proclamation. "I should be back from my Miami trip in time for things to settle down between us . . . I hope that you'll remain serious about giving me a second chance."

"I wouldn't have offered one if I _wasn't_ serious about it," she said, not quite believing that he was already leaving for another business trip _just_ as they had reconciled, ". . . but I'll warn you, Bart . . . the business trips . . . they have to stop being so regular. We can't very well have a marriage if you're _never_ here to participate in it . . . or a cohesive family for that matter. You leave me alone _all_ the time and I'm only human, Bart . . . I get so lonely when you're gone. There are only so many school events I can bury myself in and _they_ don't keep me warm at night when I'm lying in bed by myself . . . Also, I'd like you to give your son more of a chance. I've gotten to see a different side of Charles while you've been away so often . . . he's _not_ the young man you think him to be . . . he's got _good_ in him and he deserves to have you recognize that. There's only so many times you can beat someone down before they _become_ what you label them, and I believe that _that_ is Charles' problem. When he tries to please you, you shut him down and I'm not a teenaged boy but I _do_ have experience with inattentive mothers . . . the kind that say they only want what's best for you without bothering to actually _listen_ to what it is you really want or need . . . right now you don't even have _that_ with Charles. He needs his father . . . he needs to know you love him and right now he thinks you couldn't care less. Why should _he_ keep trying if you're not willing to meet him half way?"

"I'll give that some genuine consideration while I'm away," Bart promised. If Lily could see good in Chuck then maybe he wasn't trying to be the best father he could be, maybe he wasn't payingattentionto the right things. "I trust he's recovering well from the mugging and his surgery?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself," Lily suggested. "The _only_ way to get to know your son is to talk to him . . . and I'll be the _first_ to admit that talking to your children isn't always the easiest thing to do, but, in the end, it's worth it . . . and it's the _only_ way to be a good parent. I'm not saying that I've got the whole parenting thing right, but I'm getting there. Instead of assuming Charles is out to embarrass or ruin you why don't you _ask_ him what's going on in his life? I've found that children rarely act out just to be the bane of your existence . . . it usually has something to do with something they can't handle but are too afraid to come to you to ask for help."

Bart nodded, trying to take in everything his wife was saying. He hadn't a clue she was so wise.

"When do you leave for Miami?" Lily asked, not really caring. She cared for Bart, but she'd done her soul-searching and knew that Rufus was her _true _love. "And when will you be returning?"

"I leave in three hours," Bart told his wife, "and I'll be gone for three weeks."

"I hate to cut our time together short," Lily cut to the chase, a little hurt and offended that Bart obviously didn't mind since he was leaving so soon after he'd just gotten home, "but I promised Rufus I'd be there with him during a meeting with Jenny's doctor."

"Of course," Bart pretended to support her, he wanted to support her for real but he just couldn't manage it when Rufus Humphrey was involved, "I wouldn't want you to keep him and Jenny's doctor waiting. Give your husband a kiss before you leave?"

Lily smiled at him as she got up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'll look forward to seeing you again . . . now that we're back on track absence is_ bound_ to make the heart grow fonder."

Lily left the penthouse and caught a cab to Brooklyn, having made up Rufus' appointment with Dr. Shepherd out of the hurt she felt at her husband's abrupt departure.

When Bart was sure she was really gone, he dialed Andrew Tyler.

"Andrew! Bart Bass . . . I know I told you not to look into why my wife was in that sanitarium but I've changed my mind . . . I'd _really_ like to know . . . I'd like to know everything," Bart said into the phone. Bart would not have resorted to this if Lily had refused to stay friends with Rufus Humphrey, he really did want to save his marriage, but he had to know everything about the woman he loved, _especially_ if any of it involved Rufus Humphrey in any way.

~*~

As Lily drove away, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Chuck.

"Lily," Chuck greeted, cautiously, "I take it you had your conversation with my father . . . How'd he handle the news?"

"I'm not leaving your father, Charles," Lily told the young man, "I decided to give him another chance . . . I just thought you should know."

"I don't understand," Chuck said, "I know you're fond of my father, but you're in love with Rufus Humphrey . . . you should _be_ with the man you love."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Charles," Lily warned, her voice thick with tears, ". . . but one of the reasons I am giving your father another chance is for you."

"For me? _Why_?" Chuck asked, he didn't comprehend what was going on at all.

"I've noticed the way he treats you, Charles, and, for once in your life, you deserve to have someone to advocate for you . . . you aren't who he thinks you are and he needs someone to open his eyes to the _truth_ . . . I'd like for that person to be me . . . but only if _you_ don't mind."

"You're sacrificing your happiness for me?" Chuck breathed, not yet able to comprehend what she was saying.

"There're more than one type of love, Charles," Lily explained, ". . . you've only experienced one type . . . I've been fortunate enough to experience the love a mother has for her children . . . and _you_ are one of my children. I'm simply sacrificing one love for another. I will continue to be there for Rufus as he deals with what's going on with Jenny, but I'm _choosing_ to be your mother . . . ifyou'll have me."

"You love _me_?" Chuck asked, disbelief coloring his voice. It was hard enough to accept the fact that _Blair_ loved him, but _Lily_ . . . he'd never _had_ a mother before.

"Yes, Charles, I _do_," Lily told him truthfully, "and I'm not going anywhere even if you _try_ to get rid of me."

"I won't," Chuck revealed, honestly, still in shock that she _wanted_ to be his mother . . . that she had _chosen_ it.

"Good," Lily exhaled, not realizing she'd been holding her breath. She'd been worried that Chuck would say something unbelievably nasty to her proposition and she wasn't sure after denying her love for Rufus _again_ that her heart could take it. "I'll expect you, Serena, and Eric home for dinner tonight. Feel free to bring any guests you'd like."

"Okay," Chuck said, a tiny smile cracking his forever smug lips, "I'll spread the invitation."

~*~

Two Weeks Later

Everyone was gathered at _The Shepherd-Sloane Private Practice_ early on a Monday morning even though it was a school day for most of the occupants of the I.C.U. waiting room on the seventh floor of the building. The teenagers, Blair, Chuck, Eric, Jonathan, who had immediately called and apologized profusely to his boyfriend after receiving the Gossip Girl blast, Serena, and Vanessa were in a group together, while the adults, Alex, Alison, Lily, and Rufus with the addition of Dan, were similarly grouped. Today was the day that Dr. Shepherd was bringing Jenny out of her second induced coma. Nate was in the I.C.U. holding her hand as Dr. Shepherd discontinued the coma-inducing meds.

About a week earlier, Dr. Shepherd had allowed Dr. Sloane, the practice's plastic surgeon, to repair Jenny's shattered zygomatic (a.k.a. cheek) bone, reconstructing the pieces he could salvage while putting a metal plate over the whole thing to help it keep its shape. It was exactly symmetrical to the shape of her left cheek bone . . . Dr. Sloane was a perfectionist just like Dr. Shepherd, only in his particular field he was allowed to exercise more of this trait working on things like breast augmentation and glute implants as opposed to the more mysterious field in which Dr. Shepherd practiced.

Dr. Shepherd appeared in the waiting room, "It's done . . . I took her off all the coma-inducing meds. Almost all of the swelling in Jenny's brain has gone down, though not enough for me to reattach the section of skull I had to remove to relieve the pressure the swelling caused. The bruising is slightly better but nowhere near where it needs to be to be considered on the path to healing. Now all we have to do is wait for her to wake up, which could end up conversely, meaning it could take her several hours or only one, it all depends."

Everyone nodded as one, taking in the neurosurgeon's words. Most everybody took a seat in a plush blue chair, but Rufus and Dan chose to pace the room in a seeming effort to wear away the blue carpet to reveal the concrete floor beneath. Lily took a seat around the middle of Rufus' path, reaching out to squeeze his hand every now and again. Serena took a seat at the beginning of Dan's path while Vanessa took a seat at the end, alternately reaching out to give him some sort of comforting gesture as everyone settled in to wait.

One hour passed . . . Dr. Shepherd came to tell them there had been no change . . .

Two hours passed . . . nothing . . . Blair ordered a take-out breakfast from _The Three Guys Coffee Shop_ . . .

Three hours passed . . . everyone had begun to become fidgety . . .

Four hours passed . . . now Alison was pacing too . . .

Five hours passed . . . it seemed that five hours was Jenny Humphrey's magic number because it had taken her exactly that amount of time to wake up from all her other drug-induced sleep-like states . . .

"She's awake," Dr. Shepherd informed all of the people who were anxiously awaiting the blonde teenager's alertness.

A communal sigh escaped the group gathered in the waiting room. A plethora of "Thank Gods" spurting out of everyone's mouths at different times, making a sort of echo effect.

~*~

The I.C.U.

Nate held Jenny's hand from the moment he took a seat by her bedside, when Dr. Shepherd had pulled the plug on her coma-inducing meds, to the second he felt her squeeze his hand gently five hours later. He squeezed her hand back just as gently before reaching for her nurse call button and squeezing it.

~*~

Jenny's P.O.V.

Jenny became innately aware of a comforting presence, a presence that happened to be holding her hand. She squeezed the hand holding hers as hard as she could at the moment, which was slight to say the least, and struggled to open her eyes, plural. For some reason she felt like the last few times her eyes were used, only one had been allowed to crack open. Sounds were starting to register with her . . . she could hear the steady beeping of machines, a whir indicating a power source, a buzzing sound that could only come from a fluorescent light, and the soft inhaling and exhaling of someone breathing. She knew who that someone was, instinctually, and bravely tried out her voice.

"Nate," she breathed, the sound coming out clearly even though her voice was eerily quiet and raspy from lack of use and the tube they'd removed from her throat when they'd taken her off the coma meds.

"Jenny?" Nate breathed just as softly, watching as her rosebud lips formed his name.

Her eyes started to flutter and she squeezed his hand again, a little more firmly this time, letting him know she'd heard him.

Both Dr. Shepherds, along with Dr. Sloane, and Nurses Badgley and Szohr appeared in the room half a minute later, crowding the small space that Jenny had inhabited. She'd become their favorite patient over the last couple weeks, learning all about her from Nate and all the other teenagers and adults who visited the I.C.U.'s waiting room as they shared stories about her and good memories they'd shared with her.

"She squeezed my hand twice," Nate smiled blissfully, his voice a happy twitter, "and she said my name . . . and _look_," he commanded cheerily, ". . . she's trying to open her eyes."

All present noted that her eyelids were indeed fluttering, so all the staff members she hadn't met scrambled to leave the room; they didn't want to scare her when her eyes finally opened. That left only Nate and Dr. Shepherd in the room when she finally popped open her clear, ocean-blue eyes. She took in her surroundings by actually moving her head, something she hadn't been able to do the first time around. She didn't give off the impression that she was scared of her surroundings, the blue walls much more soothing than the intimidating orange and green of her room at Dr. Crawford's.

"Hi," Dr. Shepherd greeted her, smiling. "It's nice to have you back with us. Do you remember me?"

"Yes," Jenny responded clearly, recognition plain in her eyes.

"Can you tell me what my name is?" Dr. Shepherd asked, his tone gentle.

"D-d . . . Dr. . . . S-she . . . S-shephe . . . S-shepherd," she said, still having trouble communicating, but not nearly as much as she had before her second coma.

"Excellent!" Dr. Shepherd clapped his hands together silently, just in case loud noises scared her. "Can you tell me your name?"

"J-J . . . J-jen," Jenny told him, not able to fully recall Jenny or Jennifer, but it was still better than just J.

"Wonderful! I'm going to tell you three things and I want you to remember those three things and when I ask you what those things are I want you to tell me what you remember, okay?"

"O-okay," Jenny responded.

"The things I want you to remember are red ball, times square, and east side. Repeat them back to me please," Dr. Shepherd ordered.

"R-red . . . b-ball . . . t-ti . . t-times . . . s-squa . . . s-square . . . e-ea . . . e-east . . . s-s . . . s-si . . . s-side," she repeated as instructed.

"Fantastic!" Dr. Shepherd crowed earnestly. "Can you tell me who's holding your hand?" Dr. Shepherd asked, with more confidence.

"Nate," she answered immediately, with absolutely no trouble as she looked at the beautiful young man standing at her bedside.

"Can you tell me who Nate is?"

"L-l . . l-lo . . . l-love . . . h-h . . . h-him," Jenny struggled, but again with less difficulty before.

Nate smiled extra wide when she said this, "Love you too, Jen."

Jenny smiled when she heard him say he loved her too. She remembered everything involving her and Nate, but they weren't clear memories. The ones that involved just her and Nate were _crystal_ clear in her head, but those she assumed included other people were abstract, with the exception of Nate's part in them, like there were holes where other people should have been.

"W-wha . . . w-what . . . h-hap . . . h-happen . . . h-happened?" Jenny slurred.

Dr. Shepherd was happy at her response to the young man's words . . . it meant she could discern between speech and sound. He looked into Jenny's eyes and started to explain, "Somehow, something happened to you . . . something bad . . . that bad something left you hurt . . ."

"W-where?" Jenny interrupted, curious.

"Your head and your ribs . . . the damage to your head was so bad that I had to operate on your brain because that bad something that happened to you made your brain bleed and swell . . . do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes," Jenny said, quickly.

"Your brain was so swollen I had to remove a piece of your skull to relieve the pressure . . . while I was inside your head I had to fix tears . . . the tears that caused your brain to bleed . . . the blood that came out of those tears made some of your brain tissue die so I had to take the dead part of your brain out so it wouldn't do any more damage . . . Do you still understand me?"

"Yes," Jenny repeated.

"Your brain is also bruised from that very bad thing that happened to you . . . which is why you can't speak as well as you're used to . . . it's also why you're having trouble remembering," Dr. Shepherd told her.

Jenny felt a cool breeze on the part of her head that was uncovered and automatically reached up to mess with her hair, but, to her shock, her hair was gone, "W-what . . . h-hap . . . h-happened . . . t-to . . . m-my . . . h-ha . . . h-hair?"

"When we took into surgery, we had to shave it all off, but it will grow back, I promise," Dr. Shepherd assured her. "Tell me one of the things I told you to remember."

"R-red . . . b-ball," Jenny said.

"Great job! Do you remember anyone else?" Dr. Shepherd coaxed.

"_Chuck_," she said vehemently, but there was no fear in her eyes, just an intensity that neither man could understand.

"Would you like to see Chuck?" Dr. Shepherd asked, wondering if seeing the other teenager would shed some light on why she remembered him and explain the intensity in her eyes as she said his name just a second ago.

Jenny nodded. She wanted to speak as little as possible because it made her head feel funky and it hurt her throat.

~*~

The Waiting Room

"She's requested you, Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd informed him after he'd revealed to everyone that Jenny was awake.

"Really?" Chuck stuttered in shock. "She _still_ remembers me?"

"She does indeed, Mr. Bass," Dr. Shepherd smiled, always happy to see a positive reaction from family members and friends.

"And she wants to see me? _Seriously_?" Chuck stuttered again, still unable to believe it.

"Yes, she does," Dr. Shepherd smiled again. He turned his attention specifically toward the group containing Jenny's family, "I'd like to see her reaction to Mr. Bass and perform a few cognitive tests before I give you my assessment of her current state."

All the adults plus Dan nodded their heads in understanding. Excited whispers were traveling like wildfire throughout the group of teenagers.

~*~

The I.C.U.

Jenny blinked as Chuck came into view from the clear glass walls. He was wearing his favorite purple suit for the occasion, and purple didn't seem to scare her either. He entered the room cautiously and smiled at Jenny. The last time he'd seen her the entire right side of her head as well as the top had been covered in bandages; now just the right and part of the top of her head were covered and a lone bandage was covering the stitches from the plastic surgery on her cheek bone. Her right eye was a disgusting shade of yellow-purple, but it was open and astonishingly blue against the nasty backdrop of her upper and lower eyelids and cheek.

"_Chuck_," she said clearly, her eyes showing the same intensity they had before.

"Hello, Jenny," Chuck greeted, his voice smooth as always, deeply contrasting with his stutters of surprise in the waiting room. It was smooth but lacked its usual smug quality. He sounded pleased, in a non-smarmy way, to see her awake, and relieved as well.

"Hi," Jenny greeted in return, her voice still clear as a bell.

Chuck smiled broadly, his face clear with nothing but joy, and at that he came closer to her, venturing as far as to take a place beside Nate, telling her enthusiastically, "You have no idea how fabulous it is to see you awake and talking!"

"T-thank y-you," she stated, the intensity in her eyes deepening as she met his brown ones.

Chuck's smile dampened a little when their eyes met . . . she remembered him . . . and she remembered that night on the roof top, the one _he_ couldn't. The intensity in her ocean-blue eyes stated that clearly, but she still seemed happy to see him.

"Jen, tell me one of the other things I told you to remember," Dr. Shepherd encouraged, pleased with her reaction to the other young man, but still with no clue what the intensity his name and presence caused to show in her eyes.

"T-ti . . . t-times . . . s-squ . . . s-square," Jenny repeated, trying extra hard to get the order correct.

"Magnificent!" Dr. Shepherd crowed again. "Jen, is it okay if I perform some tests to see how your brain is functioning?"

"Yes," she agreed, and Dr. Shepherd performed the same tests he performed after she came out of her first coma, her results were still not great but they were better than they had been the first time. "One thing I didn't tell you earlier about your surgery is that afterward I put you into a coma so you could heal without any hindrance to your brain . . . Do you understand?"

"Yes," Jenny answered, slight shock registering on her face. "H-how . . . m-mu . . . m-much . . . t-ti . . . t-time . . . d-did . . . I-I . . . l-lo . . . l-lose?"

"Two weeks, give or take a few days," Dr. Shepherd informed her. "Tell me the other thing I told you to remember."

"E-ea . . . e-east . . . s-si . . . s-side," Jenny smiled, proud that she'd gotten the order correct.

"Extraordinary!" Dr. Shepherd crowed a third time. "Good news, gentleman and lady,"

he said, beaming, "you have a long road ahead of you to full recovery and you may still have some difficulty with some things for the rest of your life but you've improved beyond what I'd hoped for at this point, which is a positive indicator of what's to come and that is definitely good news!"

The trio of teenagers smiled, happy to hear things were finally on the up and up.

"There are people in the waiting room that have been here as often as they could while waiting for this moment, Jen. Do you remember anything or anyone besides me, Chuck and Nate and that your name is Jen?"

Jenny thought long and hard before shaking her head no.

"That's okay, Jen," Dr. Shepherd soothed as his patient started to show signs of fear, "don't be afraid . . . Can you remember anything about yourself besides your name?"

She thought long and hard again before shaking her head no.

"That is completely normal for what you've been through, Jen," Dr. Shepherd continued to soothe, "and I know that this is hard . . . _more_ than hard . . . but I need you to be brave . . . can you be brave, Jen?"

Tears were sliding down Jenny's cheeks but she nodded, "I-I . . . r-rem . . . r-remem . . . r-remember . . . e-ever . . . e-every . . . e-everythi . . . e-everything . . . t-that . . . h-has . . . Nate . . . i-in . . . i-it."

"That's something, Jen," Dr. Shepherd enthused, "more than I could have ever hoped for at this stage in your recovery . . . what do you remember about Chuck?"

Chuck clenched his jaw . . . this was it . . . the moment she was going to reveal her secret about him, and he wasn't looking forward to it at all. He felt that if what he'd done was so terrible that even he couldn't remember it, then it should stay buried.

"F-face . . . f-facial . . . e-exp . . . e-express . . . e-expressions . . . m-mos . . . m-mostly," Jenny admitted, looking Chuck in the eyes again with that intensity, purposely telling him with that gaze that she had left certain things out, "a-and . . . h-his . . . v-vo . . . v-voice."

"That's all?" Dr. Shepherd asked, making sure.

Jenny nodded, saying, "Yes," as she did so.

"Tell me one of the things I told you to remember and it doesn't have to be in order okay?"

"T-ti . . . t-times . . . s-squa . . . s-square," Jenny told him dutifully.

"Excellent Jen! With everything you've told me, I can positively tell you that you are suffering from traumatic amnesia, Jen, which is excellent news," Dr. Shepherd shared with her. "It means that you have the possibility to regain your memory, and the fact that you are already showing improvement in your communication skills is a testament to the great possibility that you will, eventually, remember everything you have lost . . . it will just take time . . . the more your brain heals the more normal you'll feel and the more likely it will be that your memories will return to you . . . you just have to be very patient."

"T-thank y-you, D-dr. . . . S-shep . . . S-shepherd," Jenny said, not smiling. What was good news to Dr. Shepherd was very scary news to Jenny.

"I also have to warn you that you may be suffering from source amnesia, which is just a fancy way of saying that you can recall certain information, like Chuck's facial expressions and voice, but don't know where or how you obtained the information," Dr. Shepherd continued, his voice still encouraging.

Jenny nodded again, "T-that . . . s-so . . . s-soun . . . s-sounds . . . r-ri . . . r-right."

"Tell me another thing I told you to remember."

"R-red . . . b-ball," she said, smiling at the fact that she could at least remember the three things he'd asked her to.

"Good," Dr. Shepherd praised. "Do you remember those people I told you about? The ones that have been here so often while you were in a coma?"

"Yes," Jenny recalled for him.

"How would feel about meeting some of them?" Dr. Shepherd proposed. "Meeting them may help you remember."

Jenny looked down at her hands, "I-I'm . . . s-sca . . . s-scared."

"It's okay to be scared, Jen," Dr. Shepherd comforted his patient. "It would never be more than one person at a time and Nate or Chuck would be with you. Tell me the last thing I told you to remember."

"E-east . . . s-si . . . s-side," Jenny told him, confident.

Dr. Shepherd smiled affectionately at her, "Do you want to meet anybody? Any of the people I told you about?"

Jenny took in an enormous breath and blew it loudly out of her nostrils, which were dry and crusted, and closed her eyes for a prolonged period of time before opening them and saying, "O-okay . . . as l-long as Nate is . . . h-he . . . h-here."

"What about Chuck? Would you like him to stay as well?" Dr. Shepherd asked, gesturing to the other young man.

"N-not . . . r-ri . . . r-right . . . n-now . . . b-but . . . l-la . . . l-later . . . a-alo . . . a-alone," Jenny stammered, looking Chuck in the eyes and developing that same intensity in hers that she'd been developing all day when it came to Chuck.

"Alright," Dr. Shepherd nodded, smiling encouragingly at her again and motioning for Chuck to follow him back to the waiting room.

~*~

The Waiting Room

Dr. Shepherd returned to the waiting room with Chuck on his heels. Everyone turned to look at him as the door opened, something he was used to, and he strode toward the group of adults plus Dan, positioning himself so that he was half facing Jenny's family and half facing her friends, who seemed to be just like family.

"As I told you before, Jenny is awake," Dr. Shepherd began. "After running a few simple cognitive tests and asking her different questions, I can tell all of you to look on the bright side . . . I'm not going to stand here and tell you that she's doing well because she's not . . . she's just suffered a _very_ traumatic brain injury that has had a tremendous affect on her and her life . . . but . . . there _are_ early indicators that point in a positive direction. My diagnosis is dire, I won't lie to you . . . she is suffering from traumatic and source amnesia and the damage to her frontal and temporal lobes of her brain has caused a _major_ problem with her communication skills . . . Also, from observation, she is prone to medial-temporal lobe seizures, which are a _huge_ risk and responsibility to those she will go home to when she is released," Dr. Shepherd continued, ". . . Right now, Jenny is a terrified girl who can only remember two people . . . she remembers most of her name but not all of it and she doesn't have any idea who she is _aside_, it seems, from Mr. Archibald . . . I am willing to allow some of you to visit with her while in the company of Mr. Archibald but _only_ because she has agreed to be brave and meet the people I've told her were in her life before . . . however, she may only be visited one by one . . . _One _person at a time . . . and I'll be observing . . . so if she even _remotely_ seems agitated or scared of the person visiting, that person will promptly be dismissed from her room and it will be up to me to decide when that person can visit again . . . _no exceptions _. . . Rufus, Dan, Alison because of her violent reaction to your presence, you will not be allowed to visit her until _I_ deem her ready . . . and for _that_ I am truly sorry . . . I know it will be difficult for you to watch others get to see her while you must stay away . . . It is not a decision I made lightly."

"We know that, Dr. Shepherd," Rufus intoned, morosely. "I'm just happy that it looks as though she's on the mend."

"She is," Dr. Shepherd confirmed, "but her road to recovery is going to be a long and arduous one . . . her life will not be easy for her for a _very_ long time . . . she's going to suffer as she heals . . . and there will be days when she'll want to give up . . . I've seen it before in patients with similar injuries . . . what I need from all of you is to staypositive when you're around her . . . the idea being that if you stay positive she will as well and that _should_ help fight some of the depression that is _bound_ to set in when she gets frustrated . . . _Don't_ _give up on her no matter what no matter how long it takes_ . . . if you do, she'll be able to sense it and that will tempt her to give up . . . and if _she _gives up she won't recover."

Dr. Shepherd waited for several minutes, allowing all the information he'd unleashed on the group of them sink in. Everybody looked downtrodden and helpless, almost as though he'd told them Jenny was dead, and to them she might as well have been because the Jenny Humphrey they knew and loved was gone. She was what he like to refer to as tabula rasa – a blank slate in Latin.

"So," Dr. Shepherd said, breaking the gloomy silence, "is there anyone in particular that would like to go in first? Or does anyone have a suggestion as to who would be best to go in first?"

"Serena," all the teenagers said more or less together with the exception of Serena herself.

She gave everyone a funny look, "_Me_? _Why_? I don't know what to say."

"Because you're _Serena_," Blair said, emphasizing her name, slightly exasperated, "the beautiful, blonde, _perfect_ girl who makes _everyone_ and _everything_ shiny and happy and better no matter _what_ you do."

"It's true, darling," Lily spoke up, trying to pump her daughter up, "you have this ability to make people feel light and care-free . . . it's a gift you've always had. Every room you walk into just brightens with your presence."

"It's true, baby," Dan agreed, giving her an honest look.

"Mom and Blair are right, sis," Eric told her, shrugging his shoulders.

"They are," Vanessa took her turn to agree.

"Chuck?" Serena turned to him selfishly, begging for someone to disagree.

Chuck shrugged at her, "Sorry Serena, it's the truth and if Nate were out here he'd agree."

"You're like you're mother, Serena," Rufus admitted, shrugging at her as well. "You light up a room. If _anyone_ can make this easier on Jenny, it's you."

"But I don't know what to say," Serena insisted, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Dan came up to her and took her face in his hands, wiping away her tears and forcing her to look into his brown eyes, "Just be yourself."

She nodded, blinking quickly to get rid of the rest of her tears and looking to Dr. Shepherd, "Okay, I'll go."

"I'll give you a minute to collect yourself," Dr. Shepherd told her. "Just let me know when you're ready and don't forget that you won't be alone."

Serena breathed deeply, in and out, in and out, focusing on being calm and letting go . . . letting her find herself. She smiled one of her irresistible smiles, nodded her head sharply as she felt the confidence fill her up from her head to her toes, and became Serena van der Woodsen, the girl every girl wanted to be and the girl every guy wanted to be with.

Dan smiled at her, "There's my girl."

She smiled back at him, totally at ease, "I love you."

"I love you too," Dan continued to smile at her, confident that she was the right person to begin bringing Jenny back, "I'm ready."


	10. Chapter 10

Hey All! Thanks for continuing to read the story even though I haven't updated in forever. I haven't given up on this story, I've just had so much going on and I haven't been able to write. Don't give up on me and don't give up on the story! I love you all!


	11. Author's Update

Hey guys! I've finally begun working on the story again. I've had a horrible case of writer's block as far as this story is concerned, but I'm writing again. It may take me awhile because of the writer's block but I'll be getting chapters out to finish this story if it kills me. Thanks for sticking with me!


	12. Author's Request

Hey guys! I know it's a bit late in the game to ask this, but I really need a beta reader. If you are interested in beta reading my work please private message me. I need someone to correct my minor grammatical errors, sometimes awkward and way too long sentences, and to bounce ideas off of.


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